by John Donne
Epitaph on Himself. To the Countess of Bedford
title Epitaph on Himself: This poem may have been written in 1608, when Donne was seriously ill.
1. cabinet: Private apartment.
2. fame: Reputation.
7. this custom: That of giving, rather than receiving, legacies upon one’s death.
12–13. clay … earth: According to Genesis 2:7, God formed man from the dust of the ground.
14. glass: Made by heating and refining sand.
grow gold: Referring to the gradual alchemical transmutation of base materials into gold; also a pun on ‘grow old’.
20. trumpet’s air: According to the Bible, a trumpet will announce Judgement Day and the bodies of the just will then be raised to heaven (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
23. well composed: Well prepared for death; also a pun, since he is ‘composing’ lines of poetry, and after death he will ‘decompose’.
Text notes: Copy-text, 1635; first printed in two parts: The introductory epistle and the following ten lines with the Funeral Elegies under the title ‘Elegie’; the full epitaph, without the epistle, among the Divine Poems, under the title ‘On himselfe’; appears as a single poem in mss; 7 choice ms] will 1635; 22 to ms] for 1635
Epitaph on Anne Donne
Donne wrote this Latin epitaph to commemorate his wife’s death on 15 August 1617. It was inscribed on her tombstone at St Clement Danes Chapel, London, where she was buried with the stillborn female child whom she had given birth to seven days before her death. The fullest account of the poem, and the source of the following footnotes and translation, is M. Thomas Hester, ‘ “Fæminæ Lectissimæ”: Reading Anne Donne’, in John Donne’s ‘Desire of More’, ed. Hester.
3–4. Equit[o] … Aurat[o]: Literally, gilt or golden knight, referring to Anne’s father’s title as Knight of the Garter; also a pun on the gilt or golden nights that John and Anne spent together; perhaps also a cross-lingual pun on the guilt of their clandestine courtship and marriage.
5. Fœminæ Lectissimæ: This suggests, as Hester’s essay explains, that Anne was Donne’s ‘best reader and text’.
dilectissimæque: Chosen, or delight of the gods, suggesting that Anne was a type of the Virgin Mary.
8. transactis: The participial form of transigo, ‘to finish’ or ‘to complete’; but also ‘to stab’ or ‘to penetrate’, thus alluding to the sexual union which produced the twelve children mentioned in the following line.
16. Iohannes: This form of the name, which Donne does not generally use, unites ‘John’ and ‘Anne’.
18. Secessit: Could also mean ‘he withdrew’, suggesting the effects of Anne’s death on Donne himself.
19. et sui Iesu: Like Jesus, Anne died at the age of thirty-three.
21. Aug: xv: The date of the Assumption of the Madonna, another Marian association.
Text note: Copy-text, Loseley ms, which may be written in Donne’s own handwriting
DIVINE POEMS
To the Lady Magdalen Herbert, of St Mary Magdalen
title Magdalen Herbert: See the notes to ‘To Mrs M. H.’ St Mary Magdalen: The sister of Martha and Lazarus, Mary accompanied Christ and ministered to Him (John 11:1). During the Crucifixion she stood at the foot of the cross (Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:56; John 19:25; Luke 23:49), and then was the first witness of His resurrection (Mark 16:9; John 20:11–18). Some believe that these texts refer to three separate women, all named Mary (see l. 8).
2. Bethina … Magdalo: Mary Magdalen is identified with Mary of Bethany (‘Bethina’), a town near Jerusalem, and her family estates were said to be at Magdala (‘Magdalo’).
jointure: Jointly held.
6. Fathers: Church Fathers.
12. latter half: Both Magdalen, the latter half of her full name, and her living devoutly, as she did after Jesus forgave the sins of her early years.
14. these hymns: The ‘La Corona’ sequence that follows.
Text note: Copy-text, Izaak Walton’s Life of Dr John Donne (1640)
La Corona
title La Corona: The crown; originally a wreath of flowers or leaves, the seven sonnets of the sequence are similarly woven together, with the last line of each becoming the first line of the next; a reference to Christ’s majesty and to the crown of thorns worn by Him at the Crucifixion; possibly a reference to the rosary.
4. Ancient of Days: A name given to God by Daniel (7:9, 13, 22).
5. bays: Laurel leaves – woven into a wreath, these were a symbol of poetic achievement.
sonnet 2. Annunciation: The Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that she would bear the Son of God.
17–18. Which cannot sin … but die: Christ was born to die on the cross to save man from original sin.
21. nor thou give: Christ was conceived without sin.
24. thy son and brother: Mary is the mother of Jesus, but she, like all people, is also a child of God.
26. Father’s: God the Father’s.
27. light in dark: God is light, and Mary carries Him in her dark womb.
sonnet 3. Nativity: Mary and her husband, Joseph, were in Bethlehem when the time came for Mary to give birth. Unable to find a room at an inn, they were forced to spend the night in a stable. When Christ was born, they laid him in a manger. Above the stable a great star appeared, which guided wise men seeking to pay homage to the Son of God (Luke 2:6–12; Matthew 2:1–11).
32. Weak enough: God chose to come to earth as a helpless infant.
36. Herod’s jealous general doom: When Herod, the King of Judea, heard that the ‘King of the Jews’ had been born in Bethlehem, he became jealous and ordered his soldiers to kill all the infants of Bethlehem under the age of two (Matthew 2:16).
41. into Egypt go: The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, warning him of the danger from Herod and instructing him to flee with the child to Egypt (Matthew 2:13–14).
sonnet 4. Temple: When Jesus was twelve he was found in the Temple in Jerusalem, conversing with theologians (‘doctors’) about subjects very advanced for his age (Luke 2:41–50).
47. The Word: Jesus Christ (John 1:14).
sonnet 5. Crucifying: Jesus was sentenced to death as king of the Jews. A crown of thorns was placed upon his head, and he was forced to carry his own cross to the site of his crucifixion.
62. the’Immaculate: Christ was without sin.
64. span: Unit of measurement representing the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger or forefinger – approximately nine inches.
68. Now Thou … to Thee: ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me’ (John 12:32).
69. dole: Distribution of gifts; fate; grief.
sonnet 6. Resurrection: Christ died and was buried, and on the third day afterwards he rose again and ascended into heaven. In doing so, he defeated death and gave everlasting life to his followers.
78. thy little book: The Book of Life, in which men’s deeds and fate are recorded.
sonnet 7. Ascension: Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he took his seat at the right hand of God the Father.
86. sun, and Son: A widely used pun, for Christ rose like the sun.
88. drossy: Impure.
clay: According to Genesis 2:7, God formed man from the dust of the ground.
91–2. Nor doth … way: Jesus went before us to light the way to heaven.
93. Ram: Christ is identified with Aries, the astrological sign that marks the return of spring.
94. Lamb: A common symbol of Christ.
95. Torch: God is light.
97. raise: Exalt, inspire.
Text notes: 36 effect ms] effects 1633; 64 to’a ms] to 1633; 82 death’s ms] death 1633
Holy Sonnet 1 (II) (‘As due by many titles’)
1. titles: Appellations; legal claims.
3. decayed: By sin.
4. bought: Redeemed.
6. still: Always.
9. usurp on: Seize with
out right or claim.
Holy Sonnet 2 (IV) (‘O my black soul’)
4. turn: Return.
5. death’s doom: Judgement Day.
read: Pun on ‘read’/‘red’ throughout.
7. haled: Dragged.
Holy Sonnet 3 (VI) (‘This is my play’s last scene’)
4. span’s: Lifespan.
7. ever-waking part: Undying soul.
that face: God’s face.
8. Whose fear: Fear of which.
13. Impute me righteous: Owing to original sin, the soul cannot be righteous; it can only be considered righteous by the merit of Christ.
Text note: 6 soul ms] my soul 1633
Holy Sonnet 4 (VII) (‘At the round earth’s imagined corners’)
1. At the … imagined corners: ‘I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth’ (Revelation 7:1).
4. scattered bodies: Decayed bodies waiting to be reunited with their souls on Judgement Day.
8. never taste death’s woe: ‘But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9:27).
Text note: 6 dearth ms] death 1633
Holy Sonnet 5 (IX) (‘If poisonous minerals’)
1–2. that tree … immortal us: The Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, which brought death into the world when Eve ate its fruit.
3. goats: Traditionally believed to be lecherous.
serpents: Associated with Satan.
11. Lethean: Of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in Hades, the classical underworld.
13. That Thou remember: According to Christian doctrine, God remembers man’s sins so as to pardon them.
Holy Sonnet 6 (X) (‘Death be not proud’)
8. delivery: Deliverance from the body.
11. poppy: Opium.
12. swell’st thou: With pride.
14. death … no more: ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’ (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Holy Sonnet 7 (XI) (‘Spit in my face, you Jews’)
1–2. Spit … scoff: ‘Then they did spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?’ (Matthew 26:67–8).
3. He: Christ.
5. satisfied: Atoned for.
7. inglorious: Obscure, humble.
11–12. And Jacob … intent: Jacob disguised himself in order to receive the blessing his father intended for his brother, Esau (Genesis 27:15–29). ‘Jacob’ in Hebrew means ‘one who supplants or replaces’.
Holy Sonnet 8 (XII) (‘Why are we by all creatures’)
2. prodigal: Extravagantly wasteful.
3–4. more pure … corruption: Man, composed of a mixture of the ‘prodigal elements’, is more subject to corruption than the pure elements themselves.
5. brook’st: Tolerate; endure.
6. seelily: Senselessly, naively.
7. Dissemble: Feign.
13. tied: Restricted.
Holy Sonnet 9 (XIII) (‘What if this present’)
5. amazing: Terrifying; awe-inspiring.
9. idolatry: Unholy love of ‘profane mistresses’ (l. 10).
11–12. Beauty … rigour: Beauty is a manifestation of mercy; foulness is a sign of strictness or severity.
14. piteous: Both pious and compassionate.
Text note: 14 assures ms] assumes 1633
Holy Sonnet 10 (XIV) (‘Batter my heart’)
1. three-personed God: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
5. usurped: Possessed unjustly (by Satan, but due to God).
13. enthral: Both ‘enslave’ and ‘captivate’.
14. ravish: Fill with rapture; also seize and carry away by force; violate, rape.
Holy Sonnet 11 (XV) (‘Wilt thou love God’)
4. His temple in thy breast: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16).
6. still begetting … ne’er begun: Because God and Christ have neither beginning nor end.
7–8. by adoption / Coheir: ‘But ye have received the Spirit of adoption … we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together’ (Romans 8:15–17).
12. and Satan stol’n: And whom Satan had stolen.
Holy Sonnet 12 (XVI) (‘Father, part of His double interest’)
1. double interest: Double claim, as God and as man.
3. jointure: Joint-tenancy of an estate.
knotty: Full of intellectual difficulties; entangled.
5. This Lamb: Christ.
6. from the world’s beginning slain: ‘And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Revelation 13:8).
7. two wills: The Old and the New Testament.
12. law: The Old Testament.
and letter kill: ‘[God] hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life’ (2 Corinthians 3:6).
13. Thy law’s abridgement: The laws of the Old Testament, shortened and superseded by Christ’s love.
14. all but: Nothing but.
Holy Sonnet 13 (I) (‘Thou hast made me’)
5. dim eyes: Pun on ‘demise’.
8. weigh: Lean, incline.
13. wing me: Give me wings.
prevent: Of God’s grace, to go before with spiritual guidance and help; forestall.
14. adamant: Lodestone, magnet.
Text notes: Copy-text, 1635; 7 feebled ms] feeble 1635; 12 I can myself ms] myself I can 1635
Holy Sonnet 14 (III) (‘O might those sighs and tears’)
5. idolatry: Worship of a false idol or lover.
6. rent: Tear apart.
7. sufferance: Suffering.
10. itchy: Because infected with venereal disease.
self-tickling: Self-satisfied.
Text note: Copy-text, 1635
Holy Sonnet 15 (V) (‘I am a little world’)
1. little world: Microcosm of the universe.
2. sprite: Spirit.
9. drowned no more: God covenanted with Noah never again to destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9:8–11).
10. it must be burnt: A fire will destroy the earth instead.
14. which doth in eating heal: God’s fire consumes and purifies.
Text notes: Copy-text, 1635; 6 lands ms] land 1635
Holy Sonnet 16 (VIII) (‘If faithful souls be alike glorified’)
1. faithful souls: Of the dead in heaven.
2. As angels: Angels were believed to be able to read men’s minds.
5. descried: Disclosed.
8. tried: Separated; extracted; found out.
10. conjurers: Men who conjure spirits and pretend to perform miracles by their art.
11. pharisaical: Self-righteous, hypocritical.
13–14. for He … my breast: God can understand my soul’s grief better than anyone else because He put it into my heart when He created me.
Text notes: Copy-text, 1635; 10 vile ms] stile 1635
Holy Sonnet 17 (XVII) (‘Since she whom I loved’)
1. she whom I loved: Donne’s wife, Anne More, who died in 1617 at the age of thirty-three after the birth of their twelfth child.
2. to hers: Either to her good or to her human nature.
3. ravished: Transported.
10. for hers off’ring all Thine: For her love offering all Your love.
13. jealousy: Also zealousness.
doubt: Fear.
Text note: Copy-text, Westmoreland ms
Holy Sonnet 18 (XVIII) (‘Show me, dear Christ’)
1. Thy spouse: The true Church, devoted to her bridegroom, Christ (Matthew 25:1–10). Donne struggles to identify the true Church
among competing Christian traditions.
2. the other shore: Continental Europe, especially Rome.
3. richly painted: A reference to the Roman Catholic Church.
robbed and tore: The Lutheran Church destroyed the rich vestments, the paintings and the sculptures of Roman Catholic churches, claiming they were idolatrous.
4. in Germany and here: The Protestant Church – Lutheranism in Germany and Anglicanism in England.
8. one … hill: Mount Moriah, on which Solomon built his temple.
seven: Hills, of Rome.
no hill: In Geneva, centre of Calvinism.
10. travail: Journey; exert; labour in intercourse or childbirth.
12. dove: Symbol of God’s love.
14. open: Accessible, welcoming, with both spiritual and erotic connotations.
Text note: Copy-text, Westmoreland ms
Holy Sonnet 19 (XIX) (‘O, to vex me’)
5. humorous: Changeable; influenced by the four bodily humours that were thought to shape one’s temperament.
6. profane: Worldly.
7. distempered: Out of humour, vexed, troubled.
cold and hot: Subject to melancholic and passionate humours.
13. fantastic: Fantastical, imaginary.
Text note: Copy-text, Westmoreland ms
The Cross
title The Cross: Donne plays upon the multiple meanings of ‘cross’ throughout: as a noun, both the physical shape and the spiritual burden; as a verb, to bless oneself by making the sign of the cross on the body and to cancel or restrain.
9–10. no pulpit … withdraw: The Puritans were reluctant to use the sign of the cross in performing sacraments.
16. dew’d: Wet, as in the sacrament of baptism.
20. yard: The long spar that crosses a ship’s mast and supports the sail.
37. alchemists do coiners prove: Alchemists allegedly could turn base metals into gold.
46. a snake: Satan.
47. the rest: Of the senses.
49–50. that can roam / And move: The eye can move and observe from a distance objects that cross its path.
50. to th’others … home: The rest of the senses require close physical proximity.
