Holy Sonnet III
O might those sighes and teares returne againeInto my breast and eyes, which I have spent,That I might in this holy discontentMourne with some fruit, as I have mourn'd in vaine;In mine Idolatry what showres of raineMine eyes did waste? what griefs my heart did rent?That sufferance was my sinne; now I repent;'Cause I did suffer I must suffer paine.Th'hydroptique drunkard, and night-scouting thiefe,The itchy Lecher, and selfe tickling proudHave the remembrance of past joyes, for reliefeOf comming ills. To (poore) me is allow'dNo ease; for, long, yet vehement griefe hath beeneTh'effect and cause, the punishment and sinne.
Words in this poem
- mourne n.
- The armed or feruled end of a staff; in a sheephook, the end of the staff to which the hook is attached. Sir P. Sidney. [See 2d Morne.]
- sufferance n.
- The state of suffering; the bearing of pain; endurance. [OE. suffrance, OF. sufrance, soufrance, F. souffrance, L. sufferentia, from sufferens, -entis, p.pr. of sufferre. See Suffer.]
- sinne adv.
- Old form of Since. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- itchy a.
- Infected with the itch, or with an itching sensation.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet III 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, Holy Sonnet III, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-iii.html, id L20844.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet III is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See 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 ABBAABBACDCD-- againeA · spentB · discontentB · vaineA · raineA · rentB · repentB · paineA · thiefeC · proudD · reliefeC · allow'dD · beene · sinne
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O might those sighes and teares returne againe | 10 | ·········· |
| Into my breast and eyes, which I have spent, | 10 | ·········· |
| That I might in this holy discontent | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Mourne with some fruit, as I have mourn'd in vaine; | 10 | ·········· |
| In mine Idolatry what showres of raine | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/·· |
| Mine eyes did waste? what griefs my heart did rent? | 10 | ·········· |
| That sufferance was my sinne; now I repent; | 11 | ·/˘˘·····˘/ |
| 'Cause I did suffer I must suffer paine. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Th'hydroptique drunkard, and night-scouting thiefe, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The itchy Lecher, and selfe tickling proud | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Have the remembrance of past joyes, for reliefe | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| Of comming ills. To (poore) me is allow'd | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| No ease; for, long, yet vehement griefe hath beene | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Th'effect and cause, the punishment and sinne. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.