John Donne's use of the conventions for the Elizabethan sonnet sequence in Holy sonnets.

Abstract

Authorities differ concerning the sequence of Donne's Holy Sonnets. Certain scholars have attempted to relate the twelve sonnets from the 1633 edition to a sequence influenced by the Anglican Doctrine of Contrition, pertaining to strict disciplines of the Anglican Church which one must follow in order to attain salvation. According to particular themes, a sequence of this nature is evident; however, it is not too poetically satisfying to relate Donne's sonnets to this rigorous and methodical plan of redemption. Others argue that there is no coherent sequence in the 'Holy Sonnets, explaining that each sonnet forms a poem in itself separate from the rest. This present study attempts to relate Donne's' Holy Sonnets to the tradition of the Elizabethan sonnet sequence following the pattern of a male narrator's addressing a female in the form (of the dramatic monologue. Although the female does not audibly reply to the narrator, there is a dramatic tension and action between the two characters that causes one sonnet to continue logically to the next, thus forming a sonnet-cycle.