Dr Ryan Sinni English Lecture 2

Summary

In this lecture, Dr. Ryan Sinni delves into John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 10,' exploring its historical context and thematic depth. Donne, a priest and poet, uses intense language and energy in his poetry to address the theme of death, challenging its might through intellectual and emotional arguments. The lecture highlights Donne's attempt to reshape perceptions of death using poetic devices, emphasizing the triumph over death and the hope of resurrection. This engagement of heart and mind seeks to make readers not only understand but also emotionally feel the message of the sonnet.

Highlights

• John Donne's intense and vigorous style makes complex themes accessible. 🎭
• 'Holy Sonnet 10' challenges the might of Death using intellectual and emotional arguments. 😈➡️🌅
• The poem's structure guides from theme declaration to emotional engagement. 🧩➡️💓
• Apostrophe in the poem adds a bold, direct confrontation to Death. ⚔️
• Donne evokes triumph over death, aligning with the hope of resurrection. 🌄

Key Takeaways

• Explore John Donne's intense poetic style, which blends intellect with emotion to tackle themes of life and death. 🔍
• Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 10' challenges the fear of death, portraying it as less powerful than it seems and emphasizing the hope of resurrection. 🌅
• The poem uses apostrophe, addressing Death directly, transforming it into a meditation and mockery, encouraging a sense of triumph. 💪
• Arguments within the poem reveal a deeper connection between reason and emotion, aiming to change perceptions through an integrated head-heart approach. 🧠❤️
• Poetry aims not only to convey information but to evoke emotion, as seen in Donne's skillful intertwining of logic and feelings. 🎭

Overview

John Donne, a contemporary of Shakespeare, channels intense energy and vigor in his poetry, evident in his 'Holy Sonnet 10.' Dr. Ryan Sinni explores how Donne's background as a priest reflects in his work. Donne's language, though seemingly archaic, brings out complex themes, especially dealing with mortality and the perception of death. His impactful writing style isn't just about the use of words but focuses on stoking intellectual and emotional responses.

Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 10' serves as a profound meditation on death, blending intellectual arguments with his poetic flair. Through apostrophe, wherein he speaks directly to Death, Donne transforms a meditative reflection into a mockery and challenge, tackling the subject with an integrated approach. This sonnet not only questions Death's prowess but also provides a comforting vision of life beyond, emphasizing the triumphant message of resurrection and eternal hope.

This lecture by Dr. Sinni emphasizes that poetry, at its core, aims not just to share meanings but to evoke feelings. Donne's approach, significantly through 'Holy Sonnet 10,' illustrates how poetry engages both the mind and the heart, leaving a lasting impact on its audience. The lecture pushes forward the notion that understanding poetry requires engaging with its emotional and intellectual layers, transforming dry information into vibrant, living art.

Dr Ryan Sinni English Lecture 2 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 my goal in this video is to help you understand John Dunn's poem holy Sonet 10 to do this it's helpful to have some background on the author John Dunn a priest in the Church of England lived from 1572 to 1631 around the same time as William Shakespeare I hope this helps explain why his language might seem difficult or
• 00:30 - 01:00 archaic yet dun's poetry is marked by intensity energy and vigor in fact his poem batter my heart threepers God is so explosive that when the United States was developing the atomic bomb they named their tests the Trinity tests after that very poem
• 01:00 - 01:30 in holy sonnet 10 dun applies these poetic energies to a problem we all face the problem of death to understand what Dunn is up to in this poem it's helpful to know that dun is a devotional poet now that doesn't just mean he writes about religious themes it means that he's trying to lead his leers to a
• 01:30 - 02:00 particular emotional state a state of devotion this might sound like manipulation or emotionalism but that's not what Dunn is up to to the contrary dun's poetry is intensely intellectual addressing the Heart by means of the Mind as such it often takes the following G General
• 02:00 - 02:30 shape first the speaker States the theme of the poem second he tumbles it up and down in his mind trying to understand it as best he can third drawing on this understanding he seeks to stir up our emotions to a state of devotion the poem before us follows this basic structure
• 02:30 - 03:00 in the opening lines the speaker announces the poem's theme death be not proud though some have call it thee Mighty and dreadful for thou art not so notice how these lines reveal the purpose of the poem the speaker is trying to correct a misperception about death some have called thee Mighty and Dreadful but this isn't actually true
• 03:00 - 03:30 death isn't as scary as we think it's also important to notice who the speaker is addressing rather than speaking to other humans or even to God the speaker talks directly to death this literary device speaking to an abstraction or inanimate object is called apostrophe it's the same thing the Apostle does when he says oh death
• 03:30 - 04:00 where is your Victory oh death where is your sting and dun surely has this passage in mind as he writes this poem the speaker's direct address to death makes the poem not only a meditation but also a mockery a kind of boast or challenge to a personified death although meditations on death were quite common during this period they
• 04:00 - 04:30 typically focused on the shortness of Earthly life dun by contrast highlights the hope of the Resurrection by engaging in mockery the speaker encourages readers not to fear death but to feel triumphant over it the middle of the poem consists of a series of arguments that show why death is not as mighty as he seems
• 04:30 - 05:00 this part of the poem is where the speaker is really engaging his intellect we might find it strange to read arguments in the middle of a poem this is because we tend to think of poems as merely subjective expressions of feeling disconnected from logic and reason but this is actually a rather Modern Way of understanding poetry that would have been foreign to Dun and his contemporaries
• 05:00 - 05:30 who would have had a more integrated understanding of the relationship between head and heart the speaker begins his arguments by saying that those death seems to kill don't really die the unstated reason for this is that when Christians die they go to be with the Lord in lines five and six the speaker makes an argument by analogy with rest
• 05:30 - 06:00 and sleep if these are simply pictures of the reality of death and if these pictures provide pleasure how much more pleasant will be the rest that death provides in line eight the speaker adds that death also leads to the delivery of the Soul line nine highlights death's powerlessness death cannot come when it Wills but only as a result of things like fate chance Kings and desperate
• 06:00 - 06:30 men line 10 shows that death keeps dishonorable company poison war and sickness in lines 11 through 12 the speaker seems to imagine death making a sort of last ditch attempt to save his reputation by rebranding himself as a sleeping pill in response to this imagined argument the speaker boasts poppy or
• 06:30 - 07:00 charms can make us sleep as well and better than thy stroke the last two and a half lines bring these arguments to a head the speaker returns to the original challenge asking death why he Puffs himself up whereas the middle of the poem focuses on the Christian's intermediate State away from the body and at home with the Lord the last two lines focus on on the Christian's
• 07:00 - 07:30 ultimate hope the resurrection at this point Believers will wake from sleep while death will meet its Doom notice the irony of these closing lines death not only fails to kill the Christian but ends up dying himself these closing lines Mark the third and final stage of the poem where the speaker stir up our emotions to feel
• 07:30 - 08:00 triumphant over death those of you who aren't so keen on poetry might wonder why dun doesn't speak to us more directly why not just tell us that Christ's Resurrection means we need not fear death answering this question helps us reflect on the purpose of poetry in general although poems can be quite intellectual as I've already suggested they typically aim at more than the mere
• 08:00 - 08:30 conveyance of information in most cases the right question is not what does this poem mean but what does this poem do in holy Sonet 10 dun not only shows us the hope of the Resurrection but makes us feel it as well he does not so much aim at our heads as a came through our heads to
• 08:30 - 09:00 change our hearts