T essays

Holy Sonnet 7 - A historical/T essays As if Thou hadst sealed my pardon with Thy blood ends a poem written by a man torn between an obsession with death and a true understanding of the afterlife. Caught up in mans oldest paradox, John Donne creatively expresses his reverence for God through poetry in his Holy Sonnet 7: At the Round Earths Imagined Corners (Donne). Being raised a devout Pentecostal, I clearly recognize that by bringing together events predicted in the book of Revelations and the power of prayer, Donne evokes in his reader the need to repent for their souls sake. The purpose of this paper is to do a topical/historical analysis of John Donnes Holy Sonnet 7: At the Round Earths Imagined Corners. Holy Sonnet 7 was written in London, England sometime in the late 1590s to early 1600s, the exact date it was penned remains a mystery. Its publication, dated 1633, reveals it posthumously, so information regarding Donnes works can only be found in records which vary and even contrast at times. On its way to becoming the biggest city in Europe, Londons population was booming. During this period, the city was the center of a tremendous expansion in trade, colonization, and finance. London was also the center of the English cultural Renaissance, particularly in literature, with major figures such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare (London, VII, C). With the turmoil that surrounded the secular sect, many artists were continuously changing the very face of civilization. The famous English Renaissance took place between 1580 and 1660 (English Lit., IV, B). As society increased in size and prosperity, the populations became more diverse with different social classes that varied in background and power (Renaissance, IV, B). The Roman Catholic Church was rapidly declining spurring the growth of many humanists who hoped to ...