Donne As Divine Poet:: "All Other Things, To Their Destruction Draw."

DONNE AS DIVINE POET:
Donne has earned great fame and become one of the most renowned and distinguished
religious poets of England. Even we can go to the extent of saying that he is the innovator of a
new type of religious poetry. If he is the first metaphysical poet, he is the first religious poet of
the 17th century also. The main idea of his religious poems is the essence of guilt and sins, and
the request to God for His Mercy.
First major quality of Donne as a religious poet is his “Religious Themes” in all his poems. In all
the poems, he does not disturb the pure lyrics of his poetry with any other idea except religion.
That’s why, the readers enjoy fully the religious serenity which he creates through his
verses. “The frailty and decay of this world”, is the major theme of his poems.
“All other things, to their destruction draw.”
Second major quality of Donne as a love poet is that like his love poetry, his religious poetry has
also the touches of his personality. The important element of it is that it is not written in a
conventional didactic style. It is highly individualistic and personal. It is also an expression of his
complex personality. It is the expression of his speculation, skepticism and melancholy.
Actually, he was a Catholic by birth. For most of the people, religion is a matter of accident or
for granted but according to Donne, religion should be a man’s deliberate choice. It should be
taken after careful study and minute observation. As a result of his approach, he got ready to
embrace the Church of England. His conversation with Anglicism also influenced his poetry.
Even after this change, he was not satisfied and could not find adequate or perfect answers to
the questions arising in mind. Between this conflict, between the old and the new, he utters:
“Show me, dear Christ,
Thy spouse so bright and clear.”
Here by spouse, he means true religion.
We fully agree with the remarks of Leishman who has observed:
“Donne’s best religious poetry is intensely personal; not an exposition of Christian doctrine,
but passionate and dramatic prayer to be delivered from temptations and distractions, to be
made single-hearted, to find in God’s will his peace.”
Donne’s third quality as a religious poet is his ‘use of metaphysical elements’ in his
poetry. As a metaphysical poet, he always tries to have a sensuous interpretation of the soul.
That’s why, when he speaks of death, penitence, resurrection, punishments and rewards, he
uses the imagery drawn from the physical sciences. For example, he uses the imagery of
metallurgy in the sonnet:
“Batter my Heart, Three Person’d God.”
Similarly, he uses conceits as the instrument of argument and persuasion. Each of his poems
makes a vivid image of some experience or of a situation which gives rise to the argument.
Almost every poem argues a case for mercy and salvation. Each poem has an abrupt personal
opening, addressed to God, Christ or death. Each presents the image of a scene or situation.
The arguments are illustrated and strengthened with the use of conceits. In “Batter my Heart”,
he compares himself to a usurped town.
“I, like a usurpt towne, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end.”
Fourth major quality of Donne as a religious poet is his ‘use of sex imagery.’ In holy situations,
the use of sex imagery is surprising and startles a reader. In “Batter my Heart”, he uses the
imagery of adultery.
“Why doth the devil then usurp in me?
Why doth he steal, nay ravish that’s thy right?”
Another quality of Donne as a religious poet is his use of language with special features
including combination of simple words and use of odd phrases. Similarly, sometimes Donne
appears before us as a juggler in using a language. He tries to play upon with the words and
repeats them to lay stress on his ideas.
Another quality of Donne as a religious poet is that there is found a great similarity of thought
and treatment between love poems and holy sonnets. Though the themes of love and holy
poems are totally different, the spirit with which they have been written is quite same. Here we
come across the same experience that analyses the inner experience i.e. the experiences of
love. In his treatment of divine poems, use of sexual imagery is quite clear.
“Betray kind husband thy spouse to our sighs
-------------------------------------------------------
When she’s embraced and open to most men.”
The last and major characteristic of Donne as divine poet is that Donne’s aim in writing divine
poetry is not didactic or moral rather he wishes to give vent to his own moods, his aspirations,
his sins and his humiliation in the quest of God. He is the most sincere, devoted and
introspective Anglican poet of the seventeenth century. Truly, he had experienced the
intensification of religious feelings mentioned in the holy sonnets. W.B. Yeats remarks:
“His pedantries and his obscenities, the rock and loam of his Eden, but make us the more
certain that one who is but a man like us all has seen God.”
To sum up, Donne’s main theme is his own self rather than love or religion. He has interest in
taking down and recording his own experiences. In love poetry, he narrates to us his reactions
to woman and sex and in religious poetry, we find a record of his inner conflicts, his doubts, his
yearnings and the questions regarding religion arising in his mind. Whatever the subject be,
Donne’s craftsmanship is admirable. What we admire more than anything else is the projection
of his personality and his mastery over diction, imagery and versification.

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