Holy Sonnet XIII
What if this present were the worlds last night?Marke in my heart, O Soule, where thou dost dwell,The picture of Christ crucified, and tellWhether that countenance can thee affright,Teares in his eyes quench the amasing light,Blood fills his frownes, which from his pierc'd head fell.And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell,Which pray'd forgivenesse for his foes fierce spight?No, no; but as in my idolatrieI said to all my profane mistresses,Beauty, of pitty, foulnesse onely isA signe of rigour: so I say to thee,To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign'd,This beauteous forme assures a pitious minde.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- spight n.
- A woodpecker. See Speight.
- rigour n.
- Rigidity; stiffness. [L. See Rigor., below.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet XIII 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 XIII, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-xiii.html, id L20854.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet XIII 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 77%).
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 ABBAABBA-CC-DD nightA · dwellB · tellB · affrightA · lightA · fellB · hellB · spightA · idolatrie · mistressesC · isC · thee · assign'dD · mindeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What if this present were the worlds last night? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Marke in my heart, O Soule, where thou dost dwell, | 10 | ·········· |
| The picture of Christ crucified, and tell | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Whether that countenance can thee affright, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| Teares in his eyes quench the amasing light, | 10 | ·········· |
| Blood fills his frownes, which from his pierc'd head fell. | 10 | ·········· |
| And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Which pray'd forgivenesse for his foes fierce spight? | 11 | ··········· |
| No, no; but as in my idolatrie | 10 | ·········· |
| I said to all my profane mistresses, | 10 | ·····˘//˘˘ |
| Beauty, of pitty, foulnesse onely is | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| A signe of rigour: so I say to thee, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign'd, | 11 | ·/˘/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| This beauteous forme assures a pitious minde. | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘˘/···· |
Notes from the edition 5
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 2 Marke] Looke W
- Line 4 that A18, N, O'F, TC, W: his 1633-69, D, H49
- Line 6 fell. 1639-69: fell 1633-35
- Line 8 fierce] ranck W
- Line 14 assures A18, D, H49, N, O'F, TC, W: assumes 1633-69
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