In Donne’s 'Batter my heart, three-person'd God', what shocking paradox does the speaker use to describe his desire for religious purity?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: He must be imprisoned to be free and ravished to be chaste
Donne uses violent, erotic imagery to plead for God's intervention. He suggests that his sinful nature is so strong that only a forced, total spiritual 'conquest' by God can make him holy.
Keep practicing
More Love and Religion questions
- What is the function of the 'Valediction' in Metaphysical love poetry?
- Henry Vaughan’s 'The Retreat' explores the religious idea that childhood is closer to God, a theme later echoed by which Romantic poet?
- In Andrew Marvell’s 'The Definition of Love', why is his love described as 'perfect' yet 'impossible'?
- The 'Flea' in Donne's poem serves as a microcosm for which religious/legal concept?
- In George Herbert’s 'The Pulley', what is the 'rest' that God keeps at the bottom of the glass of blessings?
- Which poem by John Donne features the speaker telling the Sun that his love is 'all states, and all princes, I'?