Batter My Heart : Quotations
Batter My Heart is a notable literary work by John Donne. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Batter My Heart.
Quotations
“Batter my heart, three-person’d God,”
The speaker is asking God to hit his heart. This means he is asking God’s help. He is struggling with religious doubt. He wants to restore his faith in God. But he cannot do it by himself. So he is asking God to help him.
“I, like an usurp’d town to another due,
Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;”
The speaker compares himself to a city that has been taken over by the enemy (Satan or sin). He says he really belongs to God, but his soul is now under the enemy’s control. He tries hard to let God in, but it does not work.
“But am betroth’d unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,”
The speaker says he is promised or married to God’s enemy (sin/Satan). He begs God to divorce him from that enemy. He asks God’s help to restore his religious faith.