1. Which set of violent verbs represents the forceful action the speaker asks God to take, in contrast to God's previous gentle efforts?
Overthrow, enthrall, capture, and hold
Love, woo, shelter, and hold me fast
Knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend
Break, blow, burn, and make me new
None
2. To what physical entity does the speaker compare his soul when he says, 'I, like an usurp'd town, to another due'?
3. The poem is an example of a Metaphysical Conceit, which is best defined as:
4. What is the identity of the 'three-person'd God' to whom the speaker addresses his fervent plea?
5. In the line, 'Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,' which literary device is being used on the word 'Reason'?
6. The speaker describes himself as being 'betroth'd unto your enemy.' Who is the enemy that has claimed the speaker's soul?
7. The poem ends with a striking paradox: 'Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.' What is the underlying meaning of this statement?
8. The rhyme scheme of 'Batter my heart' (ABBAABBACDCDEE in some readings) indicates that the poem is primarily structured as a(n):
9. Donne's use of military, civic, and highly erotic/marital language in a single devotional poem is characteristic of what major trait of his poetry?
10. In the line, 'That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me,' the speaker uses a paradox to suggest:
11. The speaker explicitly states that God has previously tried to 'knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend' him. What does the speaker imply by calling these efforts insufficient?
12. What is the primary spiritual problem the speaker is struggling with throughout the poem?
13. In the comparison of the speaker's soul to an 'usurp'd town,' who or what does the 'viceroy' represent?
14. The second four lines of the sonnet (lines 5-8) shift to the military conceit of the 'usurp'd town.' What is the primary function of this section in the poem?
15. In the final four lines, the speaker asks God to 'Divorce me, untie or break that knot again.' What is the 'knot' he is asking God to break?
16. The phrase 'batter my heart' is an example of an imperative sentence. What does this grammatical choice emphasize about the speaker's attitude toward God?
17. The verbs 'break, blow, burn' in the fourth line create a prominent sound device through the repetition of the 'B' consonant sound. What is this device called?
18. What is the main theme introduced by the startling final paradox: 'Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, / Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me'?
19. As a Metaphysical poet, John Donne often wrote with a personal and dramatic tone. How is this tone best demonstrated in 'Batter my heart'?
20. The three gentle verbs that God has used but which the speaker finds ineffective are 'knock, breathe, shine.' What Christian concept is 'shine' most likely referencing?
