Holy Sonnet XVII
Since she whom I lov'd hath payd her last debtTo Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,And her Soule early into heaven ravished,Wholly on heavenly things my mind is sett.Here the admyring her my mind did whettTo seeke thee God; so streames do shew their head;But though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast fed,A holy thirsty dropsy melts mee yett.But why should I begg more Love, when as thouDost wooe my soule for hers; offring all thine:And dost not only feare least I allowMy Love to Saints and Angels things divine,But in thy tender jealosy dost doubtLeast the World, Fleshe, yea Devill putt thee out.
Words in this poem
- whett v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- yett n.
- Any one of several species of large marine gastropods belonging to the genus Yetus, or Cymba; a boat shell.
- begg n.
- A title of honor in Turkey and in some other parts of the East; a bey. [Turk. beg, pronounced bay. Cf. Bey, Begum.]
- devill n.
- The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind. [AS. deófol, deóful; akin to G. , Goth. diabaúlus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
- putt n.
- A stroke made on the putting green to play the ball into a hole.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet XVII 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 XVII, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-xvii.html, id L20858.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet XVII is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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-AABBACDCDEE debtA · deadB · ravished · settA · whettA · headB · fedB · yettA · thouC · thineD · allowC · divineD · doubtE · outE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Since she whom I lov'd hath payd her last debt | 10 | ·········· |
| To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| And her Soule early into heaven ravished, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Wholly on heavenly things my mind is sett. | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Here the admyring her my mind did whett | 10 | ·········· |
| To seeke thee God; so streames do shew their head; | 10 | ·········· |
| But though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast fed, | 12 | ············ |
| A holy thirsty dropsy melts mee yett. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| But why should I begg more Love, when as thou | 10 | ·········· |
| Dost wooe my soule for hers; offring all thine: | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And dost not only feare least I allow | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| My Love to Saints and Angels things divine, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But in thy tender jealosy dost doubt | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Least the World, Fleshe, yea Devill putt thee out. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 4
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 dead,] dead W
- Line 6 their] y^r W
- Line 10 wooe] spelt woe W
- Line 12 divine,] divine W
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