John Donne's Holy Sonnets - Sonnet 5:

Here, I will present two alternate readings of this sonnet, being an allegorical interpretation of the judgement that will one day meet us all, and the other being a more common theme for the sonnet, that of love, in this case love that has failed.

Firstly, the sonnet's speaker describes himself as "a little world made cunningly / Of elements, and an angelic sprite;" in other words, he is comprised both of his actual, physical parts, and of his soul (Donne 1-2). The speaker proclaims that "black sin hath betrayed... / [His] world's both parts," and as a result, "both parts must die" (Donne 3-4). Deeper than the surface implication of simple death, however, this implies that not only will he lose his life, but his soul will also die, or in other words, be doomed to eternal damnation as a result of his sins. The speaker pleads that "new seas" be poured "in [his] eyes, / that so [he] might / Drown [his] world with [his] weeping earnestly, / Or wash it if it must be drowned no more" (Donne 7-9). This is a representation of repentence, although in this case, it seems to be a little too late. The speaker weeps over his own fate, and begs for the chance to "drown" or "clean" his soul of the sins he has committed. Indeed, the word "clean" parallels with the common religoius theme of absolution, washing ones slate clean of sins in order to attain entrance into heaven. Finally, the speaker proclaims that "the fire / of lust and envy have burnt it heretofore," so "let their flames retire, / And burn me, O Lord, with a fiery zeal" (Donne 11, 13). Lust and envy are two of the seven deadly sins, and according to many religions, dying with these on your soul will result in damnation. The references to "fire" and "burning" also correlate with the image of hell as a hot, fiery pit. In other words, the sonnet refers to the judgement that awaits everyone. If it's too late to repent, there is no way to save oneself from an eternity in the fires of hell.

Alternatively, sonnets traditionally speak of love, often love for one specific, absent woman. Going back to the speaker's description of his body being comprised of both its physical self and a soul, the soul is often associated with love. "[His] world's both parts" have been "betrayed" by "black sin;" in other words, his soul has been betrayed by the woman that he loves, so that "both parts" of him "must die" (Donne 4, 3). What sort of "black sin" has been commited, then, that has so harmed his soul and its love for this woman? The speaker addresses someone in the sonnet, calling this person "You which beyond that heaven which was most high Have found new spheres, and of new lands can write" (Donne 5). He addresses this person with extollation, referring to him or her as higher than even heaven; surely only one who he loves could be referred to with such adulation. Assuming that he is referring to the woman he loves, he goes onto say that she "[Has] found new spheres, and of new lands can write" (Donne 6). In other words, she has moved onto something or someone new, implying that perhaps she has committed adultery, or simply left the speaker in favor of a new love. The speaker wants to "Drown [his] world with [his] weeping earnestly," and this obviously describes heartache and the desire to drown out his life without his love, now that she is gone (Donne 8). His world, however, has been "burnt" by "the fire / Of lust and envy;" in other words, he is destroyed by both his lust for the woman who no longer wants to be with him and the lust she now has for another man, as well as the envy that he feels for this other man who has taken his love from him (Donne 11). Therefore, he begs the "Lord" to "burn [him]... with a fiery zeal ... / which doth in eating heal" (Donne 13-14). In other words, only the fires of the Lord have the power to overcome to lust and envy that have consumed the speaker's life as a result of losing the woman he loves.