Oh, to vex me | Oh, to vex me, contraryes meet in one

by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

Oh, to vex me

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER

Oh, to vex me, contraryes meet in one:
In constancy unnaturally hath begott
A constant habit; that when I would not
I change in vowes, and in devotione.
As humorous is my contritione
As my profane Love and as soone forgott:
As ridlingly distemper'd, cold and hott,
As praying, as mute; as infinite, as none.
I durst not view Heav'n yesterday; and today
In prayers, and flatt'ring speeches I court God:
Tomorrow I quake with true feare of his rod.
So my devout fitts come and go away,
Like a fantastique Ague: save that here
Those are my best dayes, when I shake with feare.

Text Authorship:

by John Donne (1572 - 1631), appears in Holy Sonnets, no. 19 [author's text checked 1 time 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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Oh, to vex me", op. 35 no. 4 (1945), published 1946 [ high voice and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Geoffrey Burgon (b. 1941), "Oh, to vex me", 2001? [ voice and piano ], from Heavenly Things, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Oh, to vex me", 2013, first performed 2014 [ tenor and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne - 9 Songs for Tenor and Piano, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 105