John Donne's Hymn to God the Father

A Hymn to God the Father WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun, Which was my sin, though it were done before? Wilt Thou forgive that sin through which I run, And do run still, though still I do deplore? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done; For I have more. Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin, and made my sins their door? Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun A year or two, but wallow'd in a score? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done; For I have more. I have a sin of fear, that when I've spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; But swear by Thyself that at my death Thy Son Shall shine as He shines now and heretofore: And having done that, Thou hast done; I fear no more.
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Translation of the poem in easy words for the students

Will you forgive the sin of my birth which was my sin, though it was committed before I was born Will you forgive the sin that I am committing even now, though I don't like sinning? When you 're done forgiving those sins, I'll have more for you Will you forgive the sin I committed by enticing others to commit the same sin? I haven't committed that sin for several years, but I lived in that sin for at least 20 years. When you 're done forgiving that sin, I'll have more for you I also sin by having doubts about what will happen when I die Will I simply cease to be, or will there really be a Heaven to go to? If that is the case, you will be done forgiving as I will be done sinning,

The first verse addresses his sin of being born The second verse addresses his sin of lusting after his wife (and possibly other women) the third addresses his fear that there might not be an afterlife!

Circumstances and the backdrop of the poem

John Donne probably wrote this poem in 1623, after he had recovered from a serious bout of the spotted fever which gripped London in an epidemic that year. There is a confidence in this poems tone, which gives the reader the impression that Donne has assurance of Gods favor to him." He has been saved from a disease which was very often fatal, and the speaker of the poem seems to be baiting God a bit in this song-like poem of eighteen lines. The poem is in three stanzas of six lines each, each ending with When thou has done, though has not done / For I have more. In each stanza the speaker holds up his sins to God (and these confessions, while couched in this punning, sometimes daring tone, are nonetheless sincere), and he hopes that God will forgive him for these things. But, with a dark glee, the sinner assures God that he has more of these sins the sinner is a collection of many sins, and God has his work cut out for him to do the forgiving. He begins with original sin (the belief that certain Christian sects have that Adam and Eves sin in the Garden of Eden were passed down to all humanity), and then progresses on to sins that he has brought others to (made my sin their door line 8), to a sin of fear (line 13). The speaker is begging forgiveness of God, but he is like a difficult child taunting his parent with ever increasing transgressions. The puns in refrain lines at the end of each stanza have to do with names. Done which is repeated six times, refers to Donnes own name, and more, which ends each stanza, refers to his wife Anne Mores maiden name. The meaning of these puns seems to be to add a certain levity to this poem, and may mean either than his wife incites him to more sin, or, perhaps, she is his consolation for his sins. The reference is tinged with sadness, however, because Anne More Dunne died in 1617, some six years before this poem was written. The final line reads I fear no more, meaning after he dies his sins of fear will be erased and he will once again be with his wife. This hymn was set to music by John Hilton, during Donnes lifetime, and was probably sung in some English churches during the seventeenth century.

A Hymn to God the Father Like Hymn to God, my God, in my Sicknesse, this was written fairly late in Donne's life. There is an alternative version of it entitled To Christ. It was reputedly set to music and sung to a solemn tune.

Done/Donne Though dealing with a serious topic, one very important to Donne, the poem is also an extended play on words on the poet's name. So done/Donne must be seen as being pronounced in the same way. The poet is asking God's forgiveness for different types of sins, but feeling as if he will never finish confessing them all. This gives him a fear that when he dies, he will not have received God's forgiveness and will perish on the shore, the point between life and death. Original sin The first sin mentioned is what is known as original sin. More on original sin: Adam and Eve are portrayed in the Bible as the first human beings. They are shown disobeying God and, as a result, are expelled from the Garden of Eden at the Fall. This first or original sin was believed to have tainted their descendants, predisposing all human beings to disobey Gods commandments and making it difficult for them to have a close relationship to him. This original sin is referred to by Donne as it were done before, and its continuance in himself by I do run still. He deplores it but cannot help it.The last two lines of the stanza act as a refrain. When God has done (forgiving), there will be more sins in the future to forgive, so God has not in fact done/finished (forgiving). Nor has he Donne (in the sense of possessing Donnes full allegiance), because Donne is still prone to disobey God as a result of his fallen nature and its bias to sin. Past sins In stanza two, Donne appears to be referring to particular sins, by which he also caused other people to sin. These may be spiritual or moral. It may be that he is having doubts about his abandonment of Catholicism or he may be thinking of some of his secular love poems and their frank sexuality. A sin of fear The final stanza deals with a particular sin, that of fear. Donne is so afraid of sin that he is now in danger of committing the very sin of fear, through doubting Gods promises of mercy and grace. Interestingly, he does not use Christian imagery to express this struggle, but imagery drawn from pagan Greek belief in the Fates, the three blind goddesses supposed to determine the course of human life. One Fate spun, one wove, and one cut the thread which was the moment of death. Done! Resolution comes through the narrator praying that God should swear by himself to allow his son Jesus to shine like the sun (another play on words as Jesus was called the Son of God) in mercy and righteousness Malachi 4:2 . If God does this, then he will have Donne and have done! As at the end of some of the Holy Sonnets (

This is my Playes Last Scene and At the Round Earths Imagin'd Corners ), Donne seems to be expecting a special response from God, although Christianity in fact teaches that Gods mercy is extended to everyone who repents.

A Hymn to God the Father

A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne is an insightful poem that addresses the speakers unease caused by the sins he has committed throughout his life and the inner battle to relieve his fear of death. The speaker is supposedly John Donne because he was on the verge of death when writing this poem and was deeply religious during the latter part of his life. Donnes simple and precise wording in combination with the rhythmical consistency creates an atmosphere that is serious, sincere, and direct, leaving little to interpretation and expressing his dedication to God with earnest passion. The poem itself reads like a prayer, sharing with the reader insights into what it is to be human, the nature of wrongdoing and the subsequent guilt, and the very human fear of death. The poem A Hymn to God the Father, although assumed to be spoken by John Donne, could have been inspired by his

John Donne's Hymn to God the Father

Seeking Atonement

John Donne - Wikimedia Commons

The speaker in John Donne's prayer/poem is supplicating for penance to atone for his sins of the flesh, which were on display in many of his earlier seduction poems.
The early poetry of John Donne included the sensually charged offerings of The Flea and The Apparition, for which he later sought ablution in such prayer/poems as Hymn to God the Father. Hymn to God the Father features three stanzas, each with six lines. The entire rime scheme of the poem rests on two rimes; each stanzas scheme is ABABAB.

First Stanza: Wilt Thou forgive that sin where I begun

The speaker begins his prayer asking for forgiveness for a sinthe original sin of being born of man and woman. Although he knows he does not remember choosing to be born, he knows that the fact that he is incarnated indicates that he is not soulperfected: he has karma to burn, he must reap what he has sown. The speakers sinconsciousness demonstrates that he has made significant progress as a devotee from the days when he was using his wit and charm to seduce a virgin.
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But in addition to the original sin, he is aware that he has been locked in the physical body with animal lusts that he has difficulty controlling: Wilt Thou forgive that sin through which I run, / And do run still, though still I do deplore? He is ashamed of that sin and hates it, but he needs divine aid in overcoming it.

He then says that after the Divine has relieved him of that personal sin, he still needs further Divine aid for he has more sins to confess.

Second Stanza: Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won
The speakers second sin is that he has encouraged others in the same sin, that is, the engagement with lust. He has been able to control that lust A year or two, but he wallowd in it for about twenty years. After the Great Soul has unburdened him from that sin, the speaker still has more to ask.

Third Stanza: I have a sin of fear, that when I've spun

The speaker then names his final sin, and that is the sin of fear. He fears that when he dies he shall simply disappear. He believes in his immortal, eternal soul, but he confesses to doubts, because he knows he has not yet achieved union with the Divine. He then avers that he strongly believes in Christ, and with God the Fathers help, he will become aware of Christs shining presence. He knows that his Christconsciousness shines now and heretofore. With that strong faith and complete reliance of God the Father, the speaker then can finally say, I fear no more.

Commentary
Because John Donne married Anne More, who was only seventeen years old, some scholars have interpreted a pun in the lines, For I have more and I fear no more. Also, the word done is used seven times in the poem. The interpretation of those two terms as puns, however, adds no useful information about the poem. However, the fact that the rime scheme features only words riming with Donne and More does emphasize that the speaker realizes his great obstacle to spiritual advancement has been throughout his life his indulgence of his lustful appetite. The obstacle to the speakers God-union is his own lack of self-control, not the object of this lust, which Anne More certainly had been. She bore him twelve children in fifteen years and died at age thirty-three.