Analysis of Holy Sonnet XIII: What If This Present

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



What if this present were the worlds last night?
Marke in my heart, O Soule, where thou dost dwell,
The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
Whether that countenance can thee affright,
Teares in his eyes quench the amazing light,
Blood fills his frownes, which from his pierc'd head fell.
And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell,
Which pray'd forgiveness for his foes fierce spight?
No, no; but as in my idolatrie
I said to all my profane mistresses,
Beauty, of pitty, foulnesse onely is
A sign of rigour: so I say to thee,
To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign'd,
This beauteous forme assures a pitious minde.


Scheme ABBAABBACDEFGA
Poetic Form
Metre 1111000111 1011111111 010111001 101100111 1011100101 1111111111 0111011101 1101011111 1111011 1111101100 1011111 011111111 11010110101 11101011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 627
Words 111
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 488
Words per stanza (avg) 109
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

34 sec read
128

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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