Annotation of John

Donne’s Holy Sonnet IX

Lauren Fike
 Holy Sonnet IX
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,
Whose fruit threw death on (else immortal) us,

If lecherous goats, if serpents envious

Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I be ?

Why should intent or reason, born in me,

Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous ?

And, mercy being easy, and glorious

To God, in His stern wrath why threatens He ?

But who am I, that dare dispute with Thee ?

O God, O !  of Thine only worthy blood,

And my tears, make a heavenly Lethean flood,

And drown in it my sin's black memory.

That Thou remember them, some claim as debt ;

I think it mercy if Thou wilt forget.

•
(1)If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,


Classification of Poem
(2)Whose fruit threw death on (else immortal) us,


(3)If lecherous goats, if serpents envious



(4)Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I be ?



(5)Why should intent or reason, born in me,



(6)Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous ?

 Archer comments on the works of
(7)And, mercy being easy, and glorious
 other scholars who claim Donne’s
(8)To God, in His stern wrath why threatens He ?
 poetry was influenced by
(9)But who am I, that dare dispute with Thee ?
 meditative poetry.
(10)O God, O !  of Thine only worthy blood,
 Meditative poetry has the following

(11)And my tears, make a heavenly Lethean flood,


structure:
(12)And drown in it my sin's black memory.
1) focus of setting


(13)That Thou remember them, some claim as debt;



(14)I think it mercy if Thou wilt forget.

 2) analysis of points
3) colloquies (dialogue with God)
One scholar, “Separates sonnet 9

into threefold structure

Meditative
Poetry
Poetic corresponding to the three parts
Tradition of meditation” (Archer).
Lines 1-3 focus on the sin in the

Garden.
Lines 4-8 analyze the reasoning

behind the punishment of this

sin.
Lines 9-14 are directed to God as if
Sonnet 9
in a conversation with Him.
However, Sonnet IX incorporates

poetic tradition through a

rhyming scheme and detailed
 Debate of Meditative
Meditative poetry influence
 had Meditative poetry
no effect of Donne’s
Poetry
• Although Archer shows the
claims of other scholars.
He himself makes the
claim that Donne was not
influenced by meditative
poetry.
– He claims Donne studied
Meditative poetry
during his career, not
before his career as
poet. Since his
structure correlates
from his beginning to
works to his ending
works, Meditative
poetry could not have
influenced his
structure.
• Kuchar argues that Donne’s
work do not take
Meditative poetry form
influenced Donne’s
Poetry
• Archer states that the flaw
to his argument would
be if he was introduced
to Meditative poetry at a
young age.
– It is possible outlet to
Archer’s perspective.
• Personally, I disagree with
Kuchar. He relates
Meditative poetry to all
the sonnets while this
work relates Meditative
poetry to Sonnet IX
alone.
– As seen in the previous
slide, the structure of
Meditative poetry is
 Structure to Determine
Meaning
(1)If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,
(2)Whose fruit threw death on (else
immortal) us,
(3)If lecherous goats, if serpents envious
(4)Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I
be ?
(5)Why should intent or reason, born in
me,
(6)Make sins, else equal, in me more
heinous ?
(7)And, mercy being easy, and glorious
(8)To God, in His stern wrath why
threatens He ?
(9)But who am I, that dare dispute with
Thee ?
(10)O God, O !  of Thine only worthy
blood,
(11)And my tears, make a heavenly
Lethean flood,
(12)And drown in it my sin's black
memory.
(13)That Thou remember them, some
• Sonnet has rhyme scheme of
ABBAABBAACCADD
• Poem is 14 lines (like a traditional
sonnet)
• Iambic pentameter meter

 Since the Sonnet uses
typical structure of 14 lines and
uses iambic pentameter as the
meter, the untraditional rhyme
scheme is emphasized. One sees a
shift in the rhyme scheme at line
10, while line 12 is especially
accentuated due to its lack of a
couplet.
 One interprets this
structure by concluding the
meaning or main point of the poem
is drawn through lines 10-14, with a
stress on line 12. Furthermore, the
speaker emphasizes in this poem
the want of forgetfulness of sin.
 Diction Compared to Other
Holy Sonnets
S o n n e t IX W o rd le

 In the Sonnet IX
Wordle one sees that many
questioning words appear
such as “if”, “why,” and
“should.” This choice in
diction illustrates the
speaker’s struggles with faith
Holy Sonnet’s Wordle
and doubt. While in the
Wordle of the entire Holy
Sonnets, one sees few
questioning words. One can
assume that Donne’s usual
speaker uses statements
rather than questions.
 One concludes, that
the common subject matter of
faith is addresses differently
in Sonnet IX than it is in most
of the Holy Sonnets.
Note: a Wordle is a visual representation of words that 
gives more emphasis to repeated words through size.
 Diction to Create Tone
(1)If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, These words of inquiry create a sense
(2)Whose fruit threw death on (else
of apprehension and uncertainty.
The reader feels the confusion and
immortal) us, struggle of the speaker.
(3)If lecherous goats, if serpents envious
The speaker uses diction in another

(4)Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I way to create a tone of uncertainty.

be ? Lethean- references to “the classical

(5)Why should intent or reason, born in river of forgetfulness, Lethe, which

me,
(6)Make sins, else equal, in me more
heinous ?
(7)And, mercy being easy, and glorious
(8)To God, in His stern wrath why
threatens He ?
(9)But who am I, that dare dispute with
existed in the the
underworld”(Silbergleid).
The idea of an underworld showcases
the religion of Paganism. The
speaker illustrates his confusion
further by mixing in diction that
illustrates different religious ideas.
Furthermore, he demonstrates this

Thee ? confusion through the juxtaposition

(10)O God, O !  of Thine only worthy blood,
of the word heavenly next to the
word Lethean.
(11)And my tears, make a heavenly

Lethean flood,
(12)And drown in it my sin's black

memory.
(13)That Thou remember them, some

claim as debt;
 Shift in Sonnet IX
(1)If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,
(2)Whose fruit threw death on (else
immortal) us,
One sees a complete change of mind in
the speaker from the start of line 9.
Chong suggests that Donne is using a

(3)If lecherous goats, if serpents envious

shift similar to a particular chapter
in the bible.
(4)Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I
In Romans 8 Paul uses a similar
be ? rhetorical question to “But who am I
(5)Why should intent or reason, born in to dispute with Thee?”
me, Using the pronoun thee ( a formal form

(6)Make sins, else equal, in me more of you during the time) shows a
heinous ? complete surrender to any points
(7)And, mercy being easy, and glorious
made against God.
The structural and tonal change in line
(8)To God, in His stern wrath why
9 reference Romans 8.
threatens He ?
This reference shows the speaker’s
(9)But who am I, that dare dispute
complete recoveryof his faith that
with Thee ? was doubted
(10)O God, O !  of Thine only worthy

blood,
(11)And my tears, make a heavenly

Lethean flood,
(12)And drown in it my sin's black

memory.
(13)That Thou remember them, some
 Rhetorical Strategy
 Chong also suggests that
Donne uses rhetorical strategy to (1)If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,
convince the reader of the conclusion (2)Whose fruit threw death on (else immortal)
made. Chung makes the point that the us,
reader is invited to sympathize with the (3)If lecherous goats, if serpents envious to
speaker in what is said in the beginning of (4)Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I be ?
poem. (Questioning the fairness of (5)Why should intent or reason, born in me,
salvation). Yet agreeing with the (6)Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous ?
skepticism in the beginning, the reader is (7)And, mercy being easy, and glorious
expected to follow through with the (8)To God, in His stern wrath why threatens
He ?
conclusion made at the end of the poem. (9)But who am I, that dare dispute with Thee ? Rebuked cry
(God is sovereign and should not be (10)O God, O !  of Thine only worthy blood,
questioned). (11)And my tears, make a heavenly Lethean flood,
 Chong supports this point (12)And drown in it my sin's black memory.
(13)That Thou remember them, some claim as
through the change in pronouns. The shift debt;
from first person plural to first person (14)I think it mercy if Thou wilt forget.
singular allows the reader to more easily
sympathize with the speaker. The speaker
shifts the weight on to himself so the
audience feels no pressure to abide but
sorry for his confusion and doubt. He also
supports this point through the way the
speaker changes his mind. Instead of the
speaker just accepting his faults, the
speaker rebukes in a cry (shown through
the explanation point). Listen to the
recording of Lines 8-10 to more clearly
understand this point. The audience
sympathizes with the speaker and agrees
to follow the same thought process as the
speaker.


 Metaphors
• Use of metaphysical • While aspects discussed in
metaphors poem such as the fall of
• Compares unlikely objects man, grace, and mercy
with each other to usually create different
create unexpected imagery.
imagery.
• Compares sin to lusty
goats and malicious
snakes.
• Compares grace to
uncontrollable flood

vs.
 Dramatic Nature of Poem
K u ch a r su p p o rts th e
• Through the cla im o f D o n n e p ro d u cin g
punctuation, on d ra m a tic p o e try. H e ta ke s th is
cla im to a fu rth e r exte n t b y
would probably sta tin g , “ S o m e o f th e m o st
hear the poem d ra m a tic m o m e n t o ccu r w h e n
D o n n e ’ s sp e a ke r re co ils in th e
more like the fa ce o f G o d ” ( K u ch a r). A s a n
audio clip exa m p le K u ch a r m e n tio n s lin e
1 1 a s a p rim e exa m p le .
assembled: K u ch a r re la te s th is
a sp e ct o f D o n n e ’ s p o e try to h is
• The following audio life h isto ry th ro u g h th e d ra m a
clip resembles exp e rie n ce d in e m o tio n s w h e n
co m p le tin g in te rse ctin g
Donne’s poetry d isco u rse o f re lig io n s in
without the C a th o licism a n d th e A n g lica n
C h u rch .
punctuation:
 Poetry Related to Life
History
“Donne often describes
ecstatic religious
experience with the same
metaphors of earthly
instability and material
metamorphoses he uses to
catalogue his melancholic,
self-destructive
inclinations” (Trevor).
In Sonnet IX, one sees

Trevor’s claim. The speaker

has a conversation with
God where he reclaims his
faith. One who is religious
would consider this an
ecstatic experience.
However, many of the
metaphors and
descriptions are dark or
depressing.

 Interpretations from
Annotations
• John Donne uses a variety of devices to
give meaning to his poem.
– Metaphor
– Structure
– Diction
– Rhetorical Strategy
– Punctuation
• One sees through these devices,
Donne’s speaker critiques his own
spiritual life in hope that the audience
will consider their spiritual life in a
different perspective.
 Works Cited
 Archer, Stanley. "Meditation and the Structure of Donne's "Holy Sonnets"“
 ELH 28.2 (1961): 137-147. JSTOR. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Web. March 2010

 Chong, Kenneth. "Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Self-Chastisement in Donne's 'If

Poysonous Mineralls'." Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Réforme
29.4 (2005): 41-55. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 2 Mar. 2010.

 Kuchar, Gary. "Petrarchism and Repentance in John Donne's Holy Sonnets." Modern
Philology: Critical and Historical Studies in Literature, Medieval Through
Contemporary 105.3 (2008): 535-569. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO.
Web. 2 Mar. 2010.


 Silbergleid, Robin. 2000. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.

<https://www.msu.edu/course/eng/491h/snapshot.afs/robins29/fs00/Worksheet/
source/New%20Worksheets/Donne's%20_If%20poisonous%20mrls.html>.


 Trevor, Douglas. "John Donne and Scholarly Melancholy." Studies in English

Literature 1500-1900 40.1 (2000): 81-102. Winter. Project Muse. Web. 2 March
2010
 Images
Slide 10
Joystick Division. 24 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.

<www.joystickdivision.com/flood%20house%20pic.jpg>.
"Poison Prevention." TampaGov. 4 June 2009. Web. 11 Mar.

2010.
<http://www.tampagov.net/dept_fire_rescue_public_educati
on/information_resources/adults/poison.asp>.
"Saving Grace." Art.com. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.

<http://artfiles.art.com/5/p/LRG/16/1650/NAZGD00Z/garret-
walker-saving-grace.jpg>.
"The Puritans." 2007. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.

<http://www.freewebs.com/olsenblockperiod5/The_fall_of_m
an.jpg>.


Slide 12
“File:JohnDonne.jpg.” Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2005. Web. 11 Mar.

2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JohnDonne.jpg>.
