Sonnet Xix
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In John Donnes Sonnet XIV, the speaker uses paradox to express his intensity and to strengthen his appeal for Gods help. The speaker pleas desperately for God to use violent force to make him choose right over wrong. He knows what is right but the wrong choice is too appealing to him. The speaker wants God to take the wrong choice away. The paradox is that the speaker wants God to take the choice away but he actually does not want live this way because he keeps choosing the wrong and knows that he is going to continue to do wrong in less he doesnt have a choice.
The beginning, the speaker says “Batter my heart”. He ask for a violent way to force him to submit to Gods well. Also, the speaker uses a paradox when he says “break, blow, burn”. When something is breaking, being blown over or burning, it is getting destroyed, not being rebuilt. He can not be molded into something holy, he needs to be completely destroyed initially, and then “make [him] new” by doing these tasks.
When the speaker says “Labor to admit You”, he is showing he works hard to do the right thing, living by Gods commandments, however he is unable to live a life free from sin. The speaker knows what is wrong and wants to do right, but the wrong way is too easy and appealing to him.
In line nine, the speaker portrays the devil as the one they are married to but wishes to be married to God when he says “Divorce me, untie or break that knot again, take me to you”. He knows what he is doing wrong and wishes to be correct in Gods eye. When the speaker says again, it shows that he has sinned more then once. He says “imprison me, for I, expect you enthrall me, never shall be free nor ever chaste”, this means he wants God to forcefully take him away from sin and make him holy and not give him a choice but to do it Gods way.
Clearly John Donnes Sonnet