Holy Rebellion People are faced with the decision to conform or rebel every day. Conformity can be seen when we follow the rules and guidelines set forth by a higher authority. Rebellion, on the other hand, is shown when we go against those rules and guidelines. Rebellion can be as simple as not following a school dress code to publicly protesting a specific issue. Sometimes an act of rebellion can be revealed in a religious setting. John Donne’s “Holy Sonnets: “If Poisonous Minerals, And If That Tree” alludes to the book of Genesis to help reveal truths about conformity and rebellion such as the sacrifices people must make, morals that help one make decisions, and the appropriateness to conform or rebel in different situations.
Personal sacrifices
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He mentions his tears in the next lines showing that he is remorseful of his previous thoughts. He wants for his wrong actions to disappear and for God to forget about them, hence his desire to drown his sins from memory. The speaker begs God for forgiveness of his terrible acts of sin that he has committed. In the final lines of the poem, the speaker asks for God to forget his sins. He wishes that his Lord would have mercy on him and not count his sins as debt. Like Adam and Eve, the speaker has rebelled against the Lord by sinning. However, he wants to to conform to the Holy ways of his religion and his God which is why he apologizes and begs for forgiveness. He might have once thought that it was okay to rebel against the Lord but now feels that he must conform to the rules and regulations that his God has set forth because he wants to go to Heaven. He wants his afterlife to be with his creator and be happy as opposed to being in a miserable afterlife in Hell. When the Speaker says, “some claim as debt; I think it mercy,” (Donne 425) he is rebelling against the normal thoughts and beliefs of people that surround him and Christians that are supposed to have the same views as him. He is stating the popular opinion, and then stating his right after, showing the contrast in the two beliefs, which reveals the element of
The piece itself is about a man (the narrator) who commits some form of domestic violence against his partner/wife, and is begging for forgiveness - asking God to understand that he didn’t truly mean to hurt her and that he is sorry, ‘I’m just a soul whose intentions are
Sophocles’s Antigone and Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies are based upon a common theme: rebellion. While reading both pieces in class, the notion of to what extent a rebellion is justified surfaced frequently; however, reading both texts was insufficient in finding a conclusion to this topic, so I read through various poems to aid my deduction. After my extensive research, I came to the conclusion that rebellion can be justified by a rebel’s genuine belief in their cause. The process of justification is based upon one’s personal qualification of what is considered just; therefore, a single belief in the righteousness of any revolt justifies a rebellion.
In order to understand James Wright's intentions in writing this poem, one must first have an understanding of the biblical story that it deals with. According to the Bible, "Satan entered Judas, who was numbered among the twelve [apostles]. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray [Jesus] to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. Then he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them"(Luke 22. 3-6). The Bible goes on to document Jesus and the apostles during the Last Supper, and Jesus revealing his knowledge of Judas' plan to betray him. He tells his apostles: "But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table"(Luke 22. 21). Judas later leads the officials to Jesus and identifies him to them by kissing Jesus. "Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I kiss, He is the One, seize Him...Then immediately he went up to Jesus and said, 'Greetings, Rabbi! and kissed Him"(Matt. 26. 48-49). After Jesus is ta...
And to my God my heart did cry / To strengthen me in my distress” (Lines 7-9). She is calling on God to help her as she watches her house become engulfed in flames. However, as the poem continues, she realizes that everything she had was artificial and not part of her heavenly home and states, “It was His own, it was not mine” (Line 17). She thanked God for taking things that were not hers to begin with and leaving her with all she needed: her family and the promise of Heaven. Nonetheless, she still misses all the memories and moments shared in the house, “My pleasant things in ashes lie, /
William Penn, an English philosopher and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, once said that, “For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.” He is saying that death is not the end of our lives, but just another stage. In the poem “Holy Sonnet 10” by John Donne, the poet talks to death itself and gives his opinion on his view of death and others’ views: it is something that cannot control anything, can be replaced by others things, and is not the end of a person’s life. Through the use of his figurative language, Petrachan form, and tone and language, Mr. Donne expresses the message that death is not to be feared because one lives on in heaven.
The father sees himself asking if his child is a “god…that [the father] sites mute before [him,” and then asking if he himself is “a god in that [he] should never disappoint?” The father first describes his child as a god because he feels that his son is a being that is untouchable, and it to be able to fully connect with him is something the father does not comprehend. The father then describes himself as a god, asking if he failed to be like a god in his child’s eyes and be perfect in every way. Another metaphor in the poem are the books. The father uses books to connect with his son, much like how Christians use the Bible, a book, to connect with their God. The Bible is something that can have a positive influence on the lives of Christians and support them through their lives all through the use of words. This is similar to the books the father uses. The father does not know how to be a positive influence on his son, so he uses books as a medium to communicate with his son due to the fact that he cannot think of what to say himself. By using these metaphors, the father is comparing his and his child’s relationship to one of a mortal and a god: a relationship that is not familial love, but rather one of a love or worship for a divine being. The father feels that he cannot have a good relationship with his son because his child is something that he cannot understand no matter how hard he tries. He is also worried that he will never live up to his son’s expectations and will fail to support
Truth and honesty are key elements to a good, healthy relationship. However, in Shakespeare's Sonnet 138, the key to a healthy relationship between the speaker and the Dark Lady is keeping up the lies they have constructed for one another. Through wordplay Shakespeare creates different levels of meaning, in doing this, he shows the nature of truth and flattery in relationships.
I find this poem to be exceptional in its meaning, in fact the verse that comes to mind when thinking of this poem is Psalm 51:17 “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” (Holy Bible, New Testament) I believe that the speaker has meaning behind his words he knows that a complete peace and joy come from the awareness of one’s sin, he also believes in the submission of himself to God and the humility of heart.
The poem begins with the speaker addressing God as “Our Father who art in heaven” (1.1). If this prayer is a metaphor for writing, it would seem that the he is actually speaking to the audience, the group of people who will ultimately judge his writing and his ideas. The casual nature of the prayer is partly based on the fact that the speaker is admittedly drunk on red wine, but also because the writer is trying to establish a relationship with his audience: A rapport with his readers is important to a writer’s success. He thanks his readers for the red wine, because it is they who have made it possible for him to maintain a lifestyle wherein he can afford the wine, and this wine acts as the liquid courage he needs to write in the first place.
Conformity and rebellion are two characteristics that cannot exist without each other. If no one were to conform then there would be no set standard for anyone to rebel against. Without rebellion conformity would not be challenged. Madness comes into play when describing those that rebel against the norm. Dickinson describes anyone with a rebellious attitude as “demur you’re straightway dangerous and handled with a chain” society treats people like this because the idea of change can scare a lot of people. Many of these themes are seen throughout literature.
...nsight to address the lack of courage and faith that plagues every human being. “The poem succeeds admirably in registering a mood not merely of disillusionment, but of personal weakness” (Morace 950). Without the faith and courage to face the final judgment, and move on to the afterlife, one will be left to linger in purgatory.
A sonnet is a lyric poem of fourteen lines, following one of several set of rhyme-schemes. Critics of the sonnet have recognized varying classifications, but the two characteristic sonnet types are the Italian type (Petrarchan) and the English type (Shakespearean). Shakespeare is still nowadays seen as in idol in English literature. No one can read one of his works and be left indifferent. His way of writing is truly fascinating. His sonnets, which are his most popular work, reflect several strong themes. Several arguments attempt to find the full content of those themes.
... of no rebellion. Thus, it is necessary to rebel against conformity when others are controlling your direct thoughts.
By making many references to the Bible, John Donne's Holy Sonnets reveal his want to be accepted and forgiven by God. A fear of death without God's forgiveness of sins is conveyed in these sonnets. Donne expresses extreme anxiety and fright that Satan has taken over his soul and God won't forgive him for it or his sins. A central theme of healing and forgiveness imply that John Donne, however much he wrote about God and being holy, wasn't such a holy man all of the time and tried to make up for it in his writing.
Milton returned to England about 1641 when the political and religious affairs were very disturbing to many. He started to apply his work in practice for that one great work like Paradise Lost when penning the Sonnets. Not every sonnet is identical but they can be difficult in interpretation, styles, word use, and so forth. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Milton’s Sonnet 8 (ca 1642), “Captain or Colonel.” This will be done by explaining the type of theme and then separating the sonnet into three sections: lines 1-4, 5-8, and 9-14 for a better understanding of how Milton used the development of ongoing events to present problems with a mystical resolution.