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Batter My Heart
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Batter My Heart

sonnet by Donne
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Article History

Batter My Heart, sonnet by John Donne, one of the 19 Holy Sonnets, or Divine Meditations, originally published in 1633 in the first edition of Songs and Sonnets. Written in direct address to God and employing violent and sexual imagery, it is one of Donne’s most dramatic devotional lyrics. The poet asks for help to overcome his religious ambivalence and to wholly accept divine grace.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.