Potpourri Unit 3

Batter my heart, three-personed God
John Donne

In Batter my heart, three-personed God, Donne's usage of diction proves to be effective in interpreting the meaning of the poem. The poem focuses on the speaker's relationship with God and faith. I believe that the speaker's diction that is related to marriage helps to convey the relationship between the speaker and God. The speakers says he "would be loved fain, but am betrothed unto your enemy"(Donne, 840). This is saying that speaker wants to be in a loving union with God, but the temptations and evils are still bonded to the speaker. The speaker is asking God to "divorce me, untie or break that knot again"(Donne, 840). This is the speaker's plea for God to 'marry' the speaker so that the speaker may be freed from all of the evils to which he is currently attached. He wants for the three-personed God to defend him and mend him. Donne's diction about marriage helps clarify the type of relationship that the speaker is wanting to have with God. The speaker wishes to divorce his harmful ways in order to have a faithful relationship with God.