Holy Sonnet XVIII
Show me deare Christ, thy spouse, so bright and clear.What! is it She, which on the other shoreGoes richly painted? or which rob'd and toreLaments and mournes in Germany and here?Sleepes she a thousand, then peepes up one yeare?Is she selfe truth and errs? now new, now outwore?Doth she, and did she, and shall she evermoreOn one, on seaven, or on no hill appeare?Dwells she with us, or like adventuring knightsFirst travaile we to seeke and then make Love?Betray kind husband thy spouse to our sights,And let myne amorous soule court thy mild Dove,Who is most trew, and pleasing to thee, thenWhen she'is embrac'd and open to most men.
Words in this poem
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- 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,]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet XVIII 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 XVIII, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-xviii.html, id L20859.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet XVIII is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDCDEE. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
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 ABBAABBACDCDEE clearA · shoreB · toreB · hereA · yeareA · outworeB · evermoreB · appeareA · knightsC · loveD · sightsC · doveD · thenE · menE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Show me deare Christ, thy spouse, so bright and clear. | 10 | ·········· |
| What! is it She, which on the other shore | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Goes richly painted? or which rob'd and tore | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Laments and mournes in Germany and here? | 10 | ˘/···/˘˘·· |
| Sleepes she a thousand, then peepes up one yeare? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Is she selfe truth and errs? now new, now outwore? | 11 | ··········· |
| Doth she, and did she, and shall she evermore | 11 | ········/˘· |
| On one, on seaven, or on no hill appeare? | 11 | ··········· |
| Dwells she with us, or like adventuring knights | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| First travaile we to seeke and then make Love? | 11 | ··········· |
| Betray kind husband thy spouse to our sights, | 10 | ˘/·/˘···/· |
| And let myne amorous soule court thy mild Dove, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Who is most trew, and pleasing to thee, then | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When she'is embrac'd and open to most men. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 1
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 3 tore] so I read W: lore Gosse
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