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A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne

Analysis

"A Hymn to God the Father" is a poem written by John Donne. This writing is a prayer to God by Donne. It starts by talking about "original sin" in the first two lines. The poem then goes on to talk about sins in which he has committed and asks God for forgiveness.

This poem (or prayer, if you prefer), is made up of three stanzas with six lines in each. The first four lines are written in iambic-pentameter while the fifth is written in iambic-quadrameter and final is written as an iambic-diameter. It is written in the rhyme structure ABABAB.

Poem

A Hymn to God the Father
By 

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.

Next: A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning