Analysis of Holy Sonnet XVIII: Show me, dear Christ
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
Show me, dear Christ, thy Spouse, so bright and clear.
What! is it She, which on the other shore
Goes richly painted? or which, robbed and tore,
Laments and mourns in Germany and here?
Sleeps she a thousand, then peeps up one year?
Is she self-truth and errs? now new, now outwore?
Doth she, and did she, and shall she evermore
On one, on seven, or on no hill appear?
Dwells she with us, or like adventuring knights
First travail we to seek and then make love?
Betray, kind husband, thy spouse to our sights,
And let mine amorous soul court thy mild dove,
Who is most true and pleasing to thee then
When she's embraced and open to most men.
Scheme | ABBCAABADEDEFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111101 1111110101 1101011101 0101010001 1101011111 1111011111 1101101110 11110111101 11111111 1011110111 01110111101 01110011111 1111010111 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 635 |
Words | 123 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 491 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 121 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 161 Views
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"Holy Sonnet XVIII: Show me, dear Christ" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22542/holy-sonnet-xviii%3A-show-me%2C-dear-christ>.
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