A Hymne to Christ, at the Authors last going into Germany
In what torne ship soever I embarke,That ship shall be my embleme of thy Arke;What sea soever swallow mee, that floodShall be to mee an embleme of thy blood;Though thou with clouds of anger do disguiseThy race; yet through that maske I know those eyes,Which, though they turne away sometimes,They never will despise.
I sacrifice this Iland unto thee,And all whom I lov'd there, and who lov'd mee;When I have put our seas twixt them and mee,Put thou thy sea betwixt my sinnes and thee.As the trees sap doth seeke the root belowIn winter, in my winter now I goe,Where none but thee, th'Eternall rootOf true Love I may know.
Nor thou nor thy religion dost controule,The amorousnesse of an harmonious Soule,But thou would'st have that love thy selfe: As thouArt jealous, Lord, so I am jealous now,Thou lov'st not, till from loving more, thou freeMy soule: Who ever gives, takes libertie:O, if thou car'st not whom I loveAlas, thou lov'st not mee.
Seale then this bill of my Divorce to All,On whom those fainter beames of love did fall;Marry those loves, which in youth scattered beeOn Fame, Wit, Hopes (false mistresses) to thee.Churches are best for Prayer, that have least light:To see God only, I goe out of sight:And to scape stormy dayes, I chuseAn Everlasting night.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Hymne to Christ, at the Authors last going into Germany is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (of 2) Edited from the Old Editions and Numerous Manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #48688; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Donne, A Hymne to Christ, at the Authors last going into Germany, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/a-hymne-to-christ-at-the-authors-last-going-into-germany.html, id L20436.
Form and metre
A Hymne to Christ, at the Authors last going into Germany is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCC-C embarkeA · arkeA · floodB · bloodB · disguiseC · eyesC · sometimes · despiseC
- 2 AAAABB-B theeA · meeA · meeA · theeA · belowB · goeB · root · knowB
- 3 AABBC--C controuleA · souleA · thouB · nowB · freeC · libertie · love · meeC
- 4 AABBCC-C allA · fallA · beeB · theeB · lightC · sightC · chuse · nightC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In what torne ship soever I embarke, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| That ship shall be my embleme of thy Arke; | 10 | ·········· |
| What sea soever swallow mee, that flood | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Shall be to mee an embleme of thy blood; | 10 | ·········· |
| Though thou with clouds of anger do disguise | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Thy race; yet through that maske I know those eyes, | 10 | ·········· |
| Which, though they turne away sometimes, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| They never will despise. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| I sacrifice this Iland unto thee, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And all whom I lov'd there, and who lov'd mee; | 10 | ·········· |
| When I have put our seas twixt them and mee, | 10 | ····/····· |
| Put thou thy sea betwixt my sinnes and thee. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| As the trees sap doth seeke the root below | 10 | ·········· |
| In winter, in my winter now I goe, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Where none but thee, th'Eternall root | 8 | ········ |
| Of true Love I may know. | 6 | ······ |
| Nor thou nor thy religion dost controule, | 11 | ····˘/˘···· |
| The amorousnesse of an harmonious Soule, | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| But thou would'st have that love thy selfe: As thou | 10 | ·········· |
| Art jealous, Lord, so I am jealous now, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Thou lov'st not, till from loving more, thou free | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My soule: Who ever gives, takes libertie: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| O, if thou car'st not whom I love | 8 | ········ |
| Alas, thou lov'st not mee. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Seale then this bill of my Divorce to All, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| On whom those fainter beames of love did fall; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Marry those loves, which in youth scattered bee | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| On Fame, Wit, Hopes (false mistresses) to thee. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Churches are best for Prayer, that have least light: | 10 | /˘········ |
| To see God only, I goe out of sight: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And to scape stormy dayes, I chuse | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An Everlasting night. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
Notes from the edition 6
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Stanza 1, line 2 my ... thy] an ... the P
- Stanza 1, line 3 soever swallow mee, that] soe'er swallows me up, that O'F
- Stanza 2, line 3 our seas 1633, A18, N, TC: this flood 1635-69: these (or those) seas B, O'F, P, S96
- Stanza 2, line 4 sea A18, B, N, O'F, S96, TC: seas 1633, P: blood 1635-69
- Stanza 2, line 7 thee, th'Eternall root] thy eternall work B, O'F (where it is altered to reading of text), P (externall workes), S96
- Stanza 4, line 4 Fame, 1633, A18, N, TC: Face, 1635-69, B, O'F, P, S96
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