Holy Sonnets

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Holy Sonnets ( Holy Sonnets ) - also known as Divine Meditations ( Divine Meditations ) or Divine Sonnets ( Divine Sonnets ) - are a cycle of nineteen spiritual poems by the English poet John Donne (1572–1631).

Sonnet XIV ( Batter my heart, three-person'd God ) in handwriting, probably from the hand of Rowland Woodward, John Donne's friend (from the Westmoreland manuscript, ca.1620, page 74 (of 107)).

The cycle

The cycle of sonnets was first published in 1633 (incomplete), two years after the death of John Donne, predominantly in the manner prescribed by the Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) , in whose love poetry the sonnet from two quartets (four-line stanzas ) and a six-line stanza, with the rhyme scheme abba - abba - cde - cde (among others). Different patterns in rhythm and structure as well as the inclusion of pairs are elements that have been influenced by the English poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616) developed sonnet form (see also Shakespeare's sonnets ).

The work of John Donne makes him one of the central figures among metaphysical poets, both in his love poetry and in religious poetry . Often comparisons are made between earthly and divine love .

The nineteen poems in the collection were never published during Donne's lifetime, although they were circulated in manuscripts . Many of the poems are believed to have been written for Donne in 1609 and 1610 at a time of great personal need, who was experiencing physical, emotional, and financial problems during that time. This was also a time of personal religious turmoil as Donne was in the process of converting from Roman Catholicism to Anglicanism and was ordained a priest in 1615 despite great reluctance and considerable self-doubt .

Sonnet XVII is believed to be written in 1617 after the death of Donne's wife, Anne Moore, "Since she whom I loved hath paid her last debt" has been.

In the Sacred Sonnets, Donne delves into the religious themes of mortality, divine judgment, divine love, and humble repentance while reflecting on personal fears.

The Westmoreland manuscript of 1620 provides the most complete version of these sonnets.

Title of the individual sonnets

The poet John Donne (1572–1631).
  1. Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay
  2. As due by many titles I resign
  3. O might those sighs and tears return again
  4. O my black soul! now thou art summoned
  5. I am a little world made cunningly
  6. This is my play's last scene, here heavens appoint
  7. At the round earth's imagined corners, blow
  8. If faithful souls be alike glorified
  9. If poisonous minerals, and if that tree
  10. Death be not proud, though some have called thee
  11. Spit in my face you Jews, and pierce my side
  12. Why are we by all creatures waited on?
  13. What if this present were the world's last night?
  14. Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
  15. Wilt thou love God, as he thee! then digest
  16. Father, part of his double interest
  17. Since she whom I loved hath paid her last debt
  18. Show me, dear Christ, thy spouse so bright and clear
  19. O, to vex me, contraries meet in one

Sonnet XIV and the Trinity Test

Film footage of the Trinity test

The code name for the Trinity - Test - d. H. the expression "Trinity" (German " Dreifaltigkeit ") - was chosen according to Robert Oppenheimer , the "father of the atomic bomb ", because when he gave the name he thought of a poem by John Donne , which reads: "Smash my heart, Dreifaltiger Gott ”(in the original of the poem:“ Batter my heart, three-person'd God ”). He has no further explanation for this.

Settings

The British composer Benjamin Britten composed a song cycle from nine of John Donne's holy sonnets (1945).

Nine of the sonnets were set to music by the composer Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) in a song cycle ( The Holy Sonnets of John Donne , op. 35). Some of the sonnets were also set to music by John Tavener (1944–2013), including by John Eaton .

literature

  • Colin Burrow (Ed.): Metaphysical Poetry. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-042444-X .
  • Don M. Ricks: The Westmoreland Manuscript and the Order of Donne's "Holy Sonnets", Studies in Philology , Vol. 63, no. 2 (Apr., 1966), pp. 187–195 ( partial online view )

See also

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Smith, AJ Biography: John Donne (Poetry Foundation). Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  2. ^ Frederick J. Ruf: Entangled Voices: Genre and the Religious Construction of the Self . 1997, p. 41 ( partial online view )
  3. ↑ On the Westmoreland Manuscript, cf. digitalcollections.nypl.org: The Westmoreland manuscript of the poems of John Donne & digitaldonne.tamu.edu: Bibliographical Description of the Westmoreland Manuscript of Donne's Poems
  4. ^ "Batter my heart, three-person'd God" - accessed November 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ John Donne HOLY SONNETS XIV. “ Batter my heart, three-person'd God; for you As yet but knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise, and stand, o'throw me, and bend your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurp'd town, to another due, Labor to admit you, but O, to no end. Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captived, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. " Donne, John. Poems of John Donne. vol IEK Chambers, ed. London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1896. p. 165 ( digitized version )
  6. ↑ "I did suggest it, but not on that ground ... Why I chose the name is not clear, but I know what thoughts were in my mind. There is a poem of John Donne, written just before his death, which I know and love. From it a quotation: 'As West and East / In all flatt Maps — and I am one — are on, / So death doth touch the Resurrection.' ”(“ Hymn to God My God, in My Sicknesses ”). Oppenheimer continued, “That still does not make a Trinity, but in another, better known devotional poem Donne opens, 'Batter my heart, three person'd God; -.' Beyond this, I have no clues whatever. "(Holy Sonnets XIV). (Richard Rhodes: The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, pp. 571-572 ( partial online view )).
  7. ↑ Countdown to the Eve of Destruction , by ANTHONY TOMMASINI; New York Times, October 3, 2005 “(...) the first bomb was tested at the site that Oppenheimer, inspired by a John Donne poem, called Trinity. (...) "- accessed on November 26, 2017.
  8. ↑ Los Alamos National Laboratory - Trinity: Completion of the Wartime Mission "Los Alamos Director J. Robert Oppenheimer named the site" Trinity "after a poem by John Donne that he had been reading." - Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ sound sample ( Peter Pears , tenor; Benjamin Britten, piano)
  10. ↑ cf. lieder.net: The Holy Sonnets of John Donne :
    1. IV: "Oh my blacke souls! Now thou art summoned"
    2. XIV: "Batter my heart, three person'd God"
    3. III: "Oh might those sighes and teares return againe"
    4. XIX: "Oh, to vex me, contraryes meet in one"
    5. XIII: "What if this present were the world's last night?"
    6. XVII: "Since she whom I lov'd hath pay'd her last debt"
    7. VII: "At the round earth's imagined corners"
    8. I: "Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?"
    9. X: "Death be not proud"
  11. ↑ cf. gedichte.xbib.de: Sonnet about death (Bertram Kottmann)

Web links

Wikisource: Holy Sonnets  - Sources and full texts