Batter my heart, three-personed God
John Donne
In John Donne's poem, irony is present in what the speaker is saying to God. He tells God that he loves him, yet he is betrothed to the devil. The speaker asks God to imprison him, so that he may be free. However, this guy isn't doing anything on his part; he's just hoping God will save him. When determining the meaning of the poem, I discovered that in the first four lines the speaker is calling upon God to fix him. God should mend him and "make him new." In the last six lines, the speaker reinforces this idea that God must interfere in order to bring the speaker to him. In connection with faith, the speaker has turned away from God and is looking for the way back. However, the speaker is saying that if he tries to come back the devil will win, and he will go back to the dark side. "Take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free, nor ever chaste, except you ravish me"(840). He's telling God to lock him away from the rest of the world, so that he can be free to live out God's will.
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