Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Batter my heart, three-personed God - Symbol

"Yet dearly I love you and would be loved fain, But am betrothed unto your enemy" - John Donne


I can't tell if this poem is being serious or sarcastic. I'm going to take it as if it was written seriously; I think it was written as a prayer. The symbolism in the poem mainly represents sin and forgiveness. The "heart" that's being battered and the "enemy" the speaker is fighting both represent sin. The speaker is asking God to lead him away from sin, but he/she knows how difficult that is going to be. The verbs "breathe", "shine", and "burn", mentioned in the beginning of the poem, represent the Holy Spirit. I'm not sure how people who aren't religious are supposed to understand the poem. It's obvious to me that the Holy Spirit breathed life into the apostles and then appeared to them as burning fire, but not everyone knows that. Maybe that means I'm completely wrong? 

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