Analysis of Holy Sonnet XV: Wilt Thou Love God

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Wilt thou love God, as he thee? then digest,
My Soul, this wholesome meditation,
How God the Spirit, by Angels waited on
In heaven, doth make his Temple in thy breast.
The Father having begot a Son most blest,
And still begetting, (for he ne'r begone)
Hath deigned to choose thee by adoption,
Co heir to his glory, and Sabbaths endless rest;
And as a robbed man, which by search doth find
His stol'n stuff sold, must lose or buy it again;
The Son of glory came down, and was slain,
Us whom he had made, and Satan stolne, to unbind.
'Twas much, that man was made like God before,
But, that God should be made like man, much more.


Scheme ABCAABBADEFAGG
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111101 11110010 11010110101 01011110011 01010010111 0101011111 111111010 111110010101 0101111111 111111111101 0111011011 11111010111 1111111101 1111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 636
Words 122
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 478
Words per stanza (avg) 120
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 04, 2023

37 sec read
130

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

All John Donne poems | John Donne Books

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