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andyellis
New Member
since 2002-06-28
Posts 1


0 posted 2002-06-28 10:22 PM



I am attempting a close examination of this Sonnet.
Can anyone suggest a meaning for the line - "Three personn'd god"
Most grateful.

© Copyright 2002 andyellis - All Rights Reserved
Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
1 posted 2002-06-28 10:41 PM


My thoughts?.. Existance is something of a trinity, isn't it...??
Father - Son - Holy Spirit
Body - Mind - Soul
Thought - Word - Deed
Three parts to the whole entity...

Stephanos
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Member Elite
since 2000-07-31
Posts 3618
Statesboro, GA, USA
2 posted 2002-07-10 01:00 AM


John Donne is no doubt referring that God has revealed himself in three "persons", ie Father, Son and Holy Spirit... or the "trinity".

Stephen.

Sunshine
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Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
3 posted 2002-07-17 12:53 PM



Taking apart a poem line by line is tricky at best; perhaps to read it as a whole, one might think he "personified" God...and it was a trick of poetic license to write "personn'd" God

Severn
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704

4 posted 2002-07-17 09:40 PM


Interesting thought Kari - in my studies of Donne I learned that while he did in fact use a lot of puns in the Holy Sonnets 'three person'd God' most definitely referred to the trinity. Donne's basic premise for 14 was essentially a metaphor comparing God as a ram, and the subject as a fortress whose gates are sin. To tie into the trinity a lot of the lines have 3 actions like:

'Your force, to break, blow, burn'
'Divorce me, untie or break that knot' etc

(I figure it's safe to do a tiny analysis here since this was posted nearly a month ago)

I'll stop before I write a novel...

K

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