Analysis of Holy Sonnet III: O Might Those Sighes

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



O might those sighes and teares returne againe
Into my breast and eyes, which I have spent,
That I might in this holy discontent
Mourne with some fruit, as I have mourn'd in vaine;
In mine Idolatry what showres of raine
Mine eyes did waste? what griefs my heart did rent?
That sufferance was my sinne; now I repent;
'Cause I did sufffer I must suffer paine.
Th'hydroptique drunkard, and night-scouting thiefe,
The itchy Lecher, and selfe-tickling proud
Have the remembrance of past joyes, for reliefe
Of comming ills. To (poore) me is allow'd
No ease; for, long, yet vehement griefe hath beene
Th'effect and cause, the punishment and sinne.


Scheme ABBAABBACDCDAA
Poetic Form
Metre 11110111 0111011111 1110110001 1111111101 0101001111 1111111111 111111101 111111101 11001101 010100111 1001011111 111111101 11111100111 110101010001
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 648
Words 112
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 503
Words per stanza (avg) 110
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

34 sec read
99

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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