Analysis of Holy Sonnet XIX: Oh, to Vex Me
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
Oh, to vex me, contraryes meet in one:
Inconstancy unnaturally hath begott
A constant habit; that when I would not
I change in vowes, and in devotione.
As humorous is my contritione
As my prophane Love, and as soone forgott:
As ridlingly distemper'd, cold and hott,
As praying, as mute; as infinite, as none.
I durst not view heaven yesterday; and to day
In prayers, and flattering speaches I court God:
To morrow I quake with true feare of his rod.
So my devout fitts come and go away
Like a fantistique Ague: save that here
Those are my best dayes, when I shake with feare.
Scheme | ABBAABBABBBCDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 01000100011 0101011111 1101001 1100111 11110111 111101 11011110011 11111010011 0101001111 11011111111 1101110101 1011111 1111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 583 |
Words | 108 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 448 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 106 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 315 Views
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"Holy Sonnet XIX: Oh, to Vex Me" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22533/holy-sonnet-xix%3A-oh%2C-to-vex-me>.
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