Holy Sonnet IX
If poysonous mineralls, and if that tree,Whose fruit threw death on else immortall us,If lecherous goats, if serpents enviousCannot be damn'd; Alas; why should I bee?Why should intent or reason, borne in mee,Make sinnes, else equall, in mee more heinous?And mercy being easie, and gloriousTo God; in his sterne wrath, why threatens hee?But who am I, that dare dispute with theeO God? Oh! of thine onely worthy blood,And my teares, make a heavenly Lethean flood,And drowne in it my sinnes blacke memorie;That thou remember them, some claime as debt,I thinke it mercy, if thou wilt forget.
Words in this poem
- immortall a.
- Not mortal; exempt from liability to die; undying; imperishable; lasting forever; having unlimited, or eternal, existance. [L. immortalis; pref. im- not + mortalis mortal: cf. F. immortel. See Mortal, and cf. Immortelle.]
- lecherous a.
- Like a lecher; addicted to lewdness; lustful; also, lust- provoking.
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- lethean a.
- Of or pertaining to Lethe; resembling in effect the water of Lethe. Milton. Barrow.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet IX 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 IX, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-ix.html, id L20850.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet IX is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
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 ABBAAB-AACC-DD treeA · usB · enviousB · beeA · meeA · heinousB · glorious · heeA · theeA · bloodC · floodC · memorie · debtD · forgetD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If poysonous mineralls, and if that tree, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Whose fruit threw death on else immortall us, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| If lecherous goats, if serpents envious | 11 | ·/˘˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Cannot be damn'd; Alas; why should I bee? | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| Why should intent or reason, borne in mee, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Make sinnes, else equall, in mee more heinous? | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| And mercy being easie, and glorious | 11 | ·/˘/˘···/˘˘ |
| To God; in his sterne wrath, why threatens hee? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But who am I, that dare dispute with thee | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| O God? Oh! of thine onely worthy blood, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And my teares, make a heavenly Lethean flood, | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘· |
| And drowne in it my sinnes blacke memorie; | 10 | ·········· |
| That thou remember them, some claime as debt, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| I thinke it mercy, if thou wilt forget. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
Notes from the edition 7
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Line 1 poysonous] poysons 1639-54
- Line 5 or] and B, O'F, S96
- Line 6 mee] mee, 1633
- Line 8 God;] God, 1633
- Line 9 thee O God? W: thee? O God, 1633-69
- Line 12 memorie;] memorie, 1633
- Line 14 forget.] forget, 1633
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