Mackenzie Jackson
Mr. Schwager
English IV AP Per. 5
8 December 2005
Prompt: Choose an literary term and apply it to a Perrine poem of your choice (3-4 pages).
Victorious in Death: Biblical Allusion in “Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness”
A writer references Achilles’ heel, Madame DeFarge, the Harpies, Job, June Cleaver, the storming of Troy, and Ebenezer Scrooge; these are some of the most famous allusions in life and literature. With each implied reference to such a name or an incident, there is a universal recognition of the connotations and histories associated with such allusions. Because of its ability to add depth to and enrich meaning in both poetry and literature, allusion has become one of the most widely used and debated literary elements. John Donne, the greatest metaphysical poet in history, was a prolific user of allusion. In his many attempts to expand on the themes of love, death, and the afterlife, Donne makes use of powerful allusions, especially those he had become familiar with in his career as a priest, those of a biblical nature. In his religious poem, “Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness”, written when Donne was very ill and thought to be near death, he makes use of biblical allusions such as the relationship between Adam and Christ as well as to Christ’s death and resurrection in a successful attempt to enrich his themes of earthly struggle and heavenly victory. These allusions in a poem concerning a reflection on life and a preparation for death expose Donne’s life struggle between humanity and divinity and the ultimate victory of the divine.
In the fifth stanza of “Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness”, Donne begins to develop his biblical allusion to the relationship between Adam and Christ and in so doing enhances his own life struggle between these two opposite figureheads of man’s conflicting nature. When Donne first references these two biblical figures, he begins with identifying the major actions of both when he writes, “We think that Paradise and Calvary / Christ’s cross and Adam’s tree, stood in one place” (Donne 21-22). The cross is where Jesus performed his act of sacrifice and redemption as the Bible notes in the passage, “This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (New International Version, Acts 2.23). Adam’s tree is the site of original sin, the “…tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (King James Version, Genesis 2.9) and “[Adam] did eat” (King James Version, Genesis 3.6) of it. This disobedience led to the fall of mankind. Adam is the destroyer of humanity and Christ is its savior. By describing the two major actions of these biblical giants, one which led to death and the other to life, Donne has already begun creating a significant contrast which further biblical allusion will intensify. Donne continues to expand on the relationship between Adam and Christ when he writes, “Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me” (Donne 23). Christ is referred to as a second Adam in the Bible and “so it is written, the first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam a life giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven” (New International Version, 1 Corinthians 15. 45-47). Through this line of verse, Donne has emphasized, once again, the differences between Christ and Adam but he has now related those differences to himself. His nature has been revealed to be a battlefield between the humanity of Adam and the divinity of Christ, which in a larger sense, is the battle of all who seek to follow Christ as Donne did. These allusions to the opposing characters of Adam and Christ expose the conflicting desires of Donne because attributes of both can be found in his character. The powerful opposites represented by these biblical allusions bring vivid depth and color to a life struggle between good and evil, between the earthly and the heavenly. Donne goes on to make a final comparison between these two men as he pens, “As the first Adam’s sweat surrounds my face, / May the last Adam’s blood my soul embrace” (Donne 24-25). The fever of Donne in his illness causes an onslaught of sweat, another sign of his humanity. According to the Bible, sweat is a result of the original sin caused by Adam and ordained as a punishment when God says, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (King James Version, Genesis 3.19). But paralleled along side the sweat of Adam and his humanity is Christ’s blood, the ultimate healing agent and cure for Adam’s sin. Mankind who “once [was] far away [has] been brought near through the blood of Christ” (New International Version, Ephesians 2.13). Donne acknowledges his approaching death and in doing so feels a need to reflect on his life. He describes that life, through the use of biblical allusion to Adam and Christ, as a battle between these two opposing natures. Despite engaging in this battle, Donne hope that God realizes that is he is not just of Adam but also of Christ. And that in his death it is the Christ-like side of him that will win out. No where in literature or history is such a vivid illustration of the differences between good and evil portrayed as in the Bible and in the characters of Adam and Christ. Donne makes use of this in order to illuminate a struggle that he experienced, a struggle that many of mankind experience. These two paragons of life and death would have been and still are universally recognized by the readers of the past and present. And through them the battlefield of Donne’s soul has been laid bare and the final victory is at hand.
Through allusion to Christ’s death, resurrection, and place in heaven, Donne moves past what his life has been and embraces the victory his death will bring him. Donne begins by alluding to Christ’s death, which was the first thing needed to bring about Donne’s salvation. He writes, “So, in his purple wrapped receive me, Lord; / By these his thorns…” and in so doing identifies elements of Christ’s death (Donne 26-27). Before being nailed to the cross, “They put a purple robe on [Jesus], then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him” (New International Version, Mark 5.17). As a priest writing a poem at such a moment, the death of Christ would have been of paramount importance to Donne. Because Christ was resurrected after his death, Donne believes that “death doth touch the resurrection” and it is his hope that he will be resurrected as well (Donne 15). In the battle he has been fighting, the Adam-like side of him will die an earthly death but the Christ-like side will be resurrected to live for an eternity. The end goal, the result of Donne’s salvation is his place in heaven and his heavenly crown. Donne asks God, “give me his other crown” and in so doing accepts his victory through Christ Jesus (Donne 27). The sharp contrast that Donne began with Adam and Christ continues with the contrast between Donne’s life and his eternity. After reliving the struggle of his life, Donne embraces the certainness of his salvation. Through these biblical allusions, Donne is placing his faith in his Christ-like side and allowing the reader to know how the battle previously described will end. Allusions to Christ’s death and resurrection reveal that it will end gloriously with “…crowns before the throne…”(King James Version, Revelation 4.10).
Donne used the most powerful book ever written, the Bible, to enhance the meaning of life’s battle against the forces of good and evil with the result being good’s ultimate victory. Mankind’s beginning, Adam, and mankind’s end, Christ, are two polar opposites, bookends of humanity’s existence. Donne manipulates a universal struggle and minimizes it down to the struggle within one man. That struggle is augmented by references to Adam and Christ and the striking differences between the two. Adam was the first of all sinners. Christ is the perfect human being, completely without sin. Adam’s sweat brings men down. Christ’s blood raises them up. Donne alludes to the fact that the contrasts between these two men exist in him. The battlefield has been illuminated and the opposing forces made clear. There is humanity on one side and divinity on the other. Now that the characteristics of both sides have been made prominent, Donne uses biblical allusion to make clear the victor, Christ, and those who are with him. Donne once said that, “When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language.” Death does not erase life but rather transform it into something better. The language of heaven is the better language and Donne put it use, even in earthly pursuits such as the writing of poetry. And it is that language of heaven that makes vivid, intense, and forceful, Donne’s earthly battle and heavenly victory.
Notice how she works clearly from her topic: Allusion in John Donne's poem.
Notice how she weaves in substantial support (quotation)
Notice how the structure of her essay follows the structure of the allusions in the poem: Death in Adam; life in Christ. See how that image follows to the very end: "earthly battle and heavenly victory."
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