존 던의 “거룩한 쏘넷”: 부활의 노래

John Donne"s “Holy Sonnets”: The song of rebirth

  This study is to find out the meaning of the death in Donne"s “Holy Sonnets” and divine poems. Death issue is the important theme and is used frequently in his poems. He expresses an assertion of faith about the defeat of death and wishes to gain new birth and eternal life through death. Ironically death must be died for rebirth and an inevitable death. Death is another way to get new life and return to Christ. Many readers think that “Hymn to God my god, in my sickness” is Donne"s most distinguished achievement in his divine poems. The poem shows that death must be accepted willingly because it is only through death that man can reach heavenly bliss and gain new life. He develops an antithetic parallel between two hills and two trees. Paradise and Adam"s tree which brought death into the world are related analogically to Calvary and the Cross, which brought resurrection and eternal life. Death and resurrection are shown to be conjoined in the poem. To sum up, Donne tried to pursuit death for rebirth and modeled after Christ"s death and Resurrection.