One of the enthusiasms of our upper faculty, and also one of this year’s themes for our own professional development, is poetry. So in rotation with our full-length episodes, (the second full episode will be coming next week, by the way) we would also like to produce short episodes that feature recitations and commentary of some of our favorite poems, starting with Batter my heart, Three person’d God by John Donne, featured in our eleventh grade humanities curriculum. These episodes will hopefully be presented in the future not only by myself, but by other faculty as well. Also, a quick correction to the commentary in the episode, a sonnet has in fact fourteen lines, not twelve, but in the moment I could not remember exactly which. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.- Q. Sicking
Batter my heart, three person'd God
(Holy Sonnet 14)
John Donne (1572 –1631)
Batter my heart, three-person’d God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy:
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
