A-Level Literature: Revision Guide for Holy Sonnet 5 (I am a little world)
AO1: BIG IDEA(s) of the poem?
● Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnet V’ captures his spiritual awareness of his past sins, which he asks God (with urgency) to
forgive him of. Donne simultaneously balances the juxtaposition of water and fire, where if water won’t drown or
cleanse his sins, then fire will burn them out instead, expressing his desperation to be forgiven by God.
AO2: Top 5 form/structure/language methods used to communicate meaning to the reader?
1. Semantic field of the Four Elements
“elements”- his world is made up of the four necessities {water, fire, air and earth} suggesting that his body and soul are
natural, and perhaps the bond between his body and soul is as necessary as the four elements {hint of Neoplatonism}
“fire of lust” “burn me”- referencing the fire that is necessary {as it is one of the four basic elements}, the imperative “burn”
suggests a demand for God to burn Donne of his sins, so that his world {his body and soul} can be cleansed of sin, and
can be as powerful as it was before
“drown my world with my weeping earnestly”- referencing the water that is necessary {as it is one of the four basic
elements} with connotations of baptism and washing away, the commanding verb “drown” suggests an urgency for God to
replenish Donne of his sins, and the adjective “weeping” could be representative of his tears, therefore he is being
hyperbolic in saying that his sins should drown in his tears {as his world isn’t fixed until his sins have been forgiven, and by
drowning them in water, it will get rid of the sins and fix the bond between the body and soul, that makes up his world}
2. Praising God
“You…which was most high”- talking to God, expressing that he is at the top of the top, and no one is as important as he
is, hence why he is the only person that can cleanse Donne of his sins
“O Lord, with a fiery zeal”- addressing God in a more formal manner, to emphasize his desperation to be cleansed of his
sins, with the natural element of fire, passionately
3. The Title, Form, Tone and Structure
“I am a little world”- this conceit brings Donne’s body and soul together and unites them as one, with the adjective “little”
suggesting that that both the Earth and his body and soul are not the most important, and it is God that is the most
important {so that he can forgive Donne of his sins}
Form-
Tone- this poem has an urgent tenor to it, to emphasize Donne’s desperation to be forgiven by God
Structure- follows the conventional Petrarchan sonnet, enjambment and caesura to represent his thinking process
AO3: RELEVANT contextual considerations?
● Age of Discovery- “new spheres/new land” Donne was a keen traveller and he left his lover behind to go travelling
with Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596
● Geocentric- belief that the Earth is the centre of the system, can be linked to his microcosm of his “little world”
● Heliocentric- belief that the sun is the centre of the system, can be linked to the fire which Donne wants to cleanse
his sins, as the sun can be associated with fire
● The Four Elements- Water, Fire, Earth and Air
AO5: Possible interpretations and/or useful critical quotations?
● John Wall- “his hope, never without a move towards despair” suggests that with Donne hoping his sins will be
cleansed, there is also a feeling of doubt that even fire and water won’t get rid of his sins
Possible THEMES?
● Elements
● Religion
● Sins
