by John Donne (1572 - 1631)
Batter my heart, three‑person'd God, for...
Language: English
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurp'd town to another due, Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end; Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "Holy Sonnet XIV", first published 1633 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Emily Doolittle (b. 1972), "Batter My Heart", 2001, copyright © 2001 [ soprano and viola d'amore ], from Virelais, no. 3, Composers Edition
Publisher: Composers Edition [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-10-02
Line count: 14
Word count: 117