Holy Sonnet VIII
If faithfull soules be alike glorifi'dAs Angels, then my fathers soule doth see,And adds this even to full felicitie,That valiantly I hels wide mouth o'rstride:But if our mindes to these soules be descry'dBy circumstances, and by signes that beApparent in us, not immediately,How shall my mindes white truth by them be try'd?They see idolatrous lovers weepe and mourne,And vile blasphemous Conjurers to callOn Iefus name, and PharisaicallDissemblers feigne devotion. Then turneO pensive soule, to God, for he knowes bestThy true griefe, for he put it in my breast.
Words in this poem
- faithfull a.
- Full of faith, or having faith; disposed to believe, especially in the declarations and promises of God.
- 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,]
- 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.]
- blasphemous a.
- Speaking or writing blasphemy; uttering or exhibiting anything impiously irreverent; profane; as, a blasphemous person; containing blasphemy; as, a blasphemous book; a blasphemous caricature. [L. blasphemus, Gr. .]
- pharisaicall a.
- Of or pertaining to the Pharisees; resembling the Pharisees. [L. Pharisaicus, Gr. pharisaïque. See Pharisee.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet VIII 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 VIII, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-viii.html, id L20849.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet VIII is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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 AB-ACB-CDEEDFF glorifi'dA · seeB · felicitie · o'rstrideA · descry'dC · beB · immediately · try'dC · mourneD · callE · pharisaicallE · turneD · bestF · breastF
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 faithfull soules be alike glorifi'd | 10 | ·/˘··˘//˘· |
| As Angels, then my fathers soule doth see, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And adds this even to full felicitie, | 10 | ···/······ |
| That valiantly I hels wide mouth o'rstride: | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| But if our mindes to these soules be descry'd | 10 | ··/······· |
| By circumstances, and by signes that be | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| Apparent in us, not immediately, | 11 | ˘/˘···˘/˘˘˘ |
| How shall my mindes white truth by them be try'd? | 10 | ·········· |
| They see idolatrous lovers weepe and mourne, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| And vile blasphemous Conjurers to call | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| On Iefus name, and Pharisaicall | 9 | ········· |
| Dissemblers feigne devotion. Then turne | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| O pensive soule, to God, for he knowes best | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thy true griefe, for he put it in my breast. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 3
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 7 in us, W: in us 1635-69. See note
- Line 8 by] to B, S96, W
- Line 10 vile W: vilde B, O'F, S96: stile 1635-69
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