{"id":15,"date":"2007-09-28T15:04:04","date_gmt":"2007-09-28T19:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/?p=15"},"modified":"2009-05-19T15:19:20","modified_gmt":"2009-05-19T19:19:20","slug":"priestly-poets-donne-and-southwell-as-writers-for-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/priestly-poets-donne-and-southwell-as-writers-for-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Priestly Poets: Donne and Southwell as Writers for God"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Burning Babe<\/strong>
\nBy Robert Southwell
\nFrom St. Peter’s Complaint<\/em>, 1595<\/p>\n

As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow,
\nSurprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow;
\nAnd lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
\nA pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear;
\nWho, scorch\u00e8d with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed
\nAs though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.
\nAlas, quoth he, but newly born in fiery heats I fry,
\nYet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!
\nMy faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,
\nLove is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns;
\nThe fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals,
\nThe metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defil\u00e8d souls,
\nFor which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,
\nSo will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.
\nWith this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
\nAnd straight I call\u00e8d unto mind that it was Christmas day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward<\/strong>
\nBy John Donne<\/p>\n

Let man\u2019s soul be a sphere, and then, in this,
\nThe intelligence that moves, devotion is,
\nAnd as the other spheres, by being grown
\nSubject to foreign motions, lose their own,
\nAnd being by others hurried every day,
\nScarce in a year their natural form obey;
\nPleasure or business, so, our souls admit
\nFor their first mover, and are whirled by it.
\nHence is \u2018t, that I am carried towards the West
\nThis day, when my soul\u2019s form bends towards the East.
\nThere I should see a Sun, by rising, set,
\nAnd by that setting endless day beget:
\nBut that Christ on this cross did rise and fall,
\nSin had eternally benighted all.
\nYet dare I almost be glad I do not see
\nThat spectacle, of too much weight for me.
\nWho sees God\u2019s face, that is self-life, must die;
\nWhat a death were it then to see God die?
\nIt made his own lieutenant, Nature, shrink;
\nIt made his footstool crack, and the sun wink.
\nCould I behold those hands which span the poles,
\nAnd tune all spheres at once, pierced with those holes?
\nCould I behold that endless height which is
\nZenith to us, and our antipodes,
\nHumbled below us? Or that blood which is
\nThe seat of all our souls, if not of His,
\nMake dirt of dust, or that flesh which was worn
\nBy God, for his apparel, ragg\u2019d and torn?
\nIf on these things I durst not look, durst I
\nUpon his miserable mother cast mine eye,
\nWho was God\u2019s partner here, and furnished thus
\nHalf of that sacrifice which ransomed us?
\nThough these things, as I ride, be from mine eye,
\nThey are present yet unto my memory,
\nFor that looks towards them; and Thou look\u2019st towards me,
\nO Saviour, as Thou hang\u2019st upon the tree.
\nI turn my back to Thee but to receive
\nCorrections, till Thy mercies bid Thee leave.
\nO think me worth Thine anger; punish me;
\nBurn off my rusts and my deformity;
\nRestore Thine image so much, by Thy grace,
\nThat Thou may\u2019st know me, and I\u2019ll turn my face.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Henry Ward Beecher once said, \u201cThe strength of a man consists in finding out the way God is going, and going that way.\u201d Both John Donne and Robert Southwell would likely agree with this assessment, though, ironically, their lives took strikingly different paths from one another. Donne and Southwell were both born into staunchly Roman Catholic families in the late 16th Century, at a time when Catholicism was illegal in England. However, Donne eventually renounced his denomination in favor of the more popularly accepted Anglicanism while Southwell, even in the face of oppression, remained an underground Catholic and was eventually executed for his beliefs. Although both poets turned their words to Holy Matters, Donne wrote from within the system, whereas Southwell used his words to subvert it. Comparing Southwell’s The Burning Babe<\/em> to Donne’s Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward<\/em> casts into sharp relief the poets\u2019 conflicting perspectives, but it also accents the remarkable similarities that they nevertheless retain toward one another. Although their methods and style may differ, it is clear that Donne and Southwell are seeking the same God.
\n
\nOne of the most noticeable differences between the poets is the contrary attitude each holds towards the coupling of time and spirituality. Riding Westward<\/em>, for example, retains Christ’s crucifixion as a past historical event, which is being recalled and applied in the present (Elsky 69-70). As Donne says, \u201cThough these things, as I ride, be from mine eye, \/ They are present yet unto my memory\u2026\u201d (33-34). He seeks to experience Christ’s power presently while acknowledging its past advent: “But that Christ on this cross did rise and fall<\/em>, \/ Sin had eternally benighted all” (13-14, emphasis mine). Southwell, however, uses a very different approach, choosing instead to draw a past event from the musty pages of history and to resurrect it as a present occurrence. In fact, Southwell is \u201cunwilling to view God, the Virgin Mary, the Angles, the Saints\u2026in an intellectual and impersonal light, and delights in\u2026bringing them into actual existence upon earth\u2026in making them into daily friends and companions\u201d (Janelle 287). Southwell tells of the arrival of the Christ child in this way: \u201cAnd lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near, \/ A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear\u2026\u201d (3-4). To Southwell, the baby Jesus literally appeared to him on that \u201cChristmas day\u201d (16). While Good Friday triggers for Donne a poignant recollection of the events and purpose of Christ’s sacrifice, Christmas actually revivifies itself for Southwell, blurring the distinction between past and present. Indeed, it is the present\u2014not the past\u2014of which Southwell must be reminded.<\/p>\n

Closely bound to this perspective on time are the poets\u2019 decisions to either externalize or internalize the spiritual encounter with Christ. Far from being a private meditation, for example, Southwell implies an almost evangelistic intention in his writing (Carballo 225). The Christ child complains, \u201cYet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!\u201d (8), and then he \u201cvanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away\u201d as if he were rushing off to go do something about it (15). Donne seems to care very little about evangelism here, preferring rather to focus on his own sinfulness and holiness. In the last line he writes, \u201cThat [Jesus] may’st know me<\/em>, and I’ll<\/em> turn my<\/em> face\u201d (42, emphasis mine). Donne considers his own state with God paramount and suggests that others think similarly: \u201cLet man’s soul be a sphere, and then, in this, \/ The intelligence that moves, devotion is\u2026\u201d (1-2). Appropriately, this reflects the societal state each poet was in. Southwell, an underground Catholic, largely spent his time encouraging other Catholics and trying to convert people to his way of thinking (White 160-161). But Donne, who held orthodox Anglican views when Anglicanism was the established church, had less impetus to proselytize than to consider the day-to-day aspects of living a life of spirituality.<\/p>\n

Much in the poems\u2019 styles evidences this contrast between external and internal mindsets. The Burning Babe<\/em> actually occurs in a definite place<\/em> and maintains a miniature plot line. Observe the concrete narrative description that Southwell uses in his opening lines when he says, \u201cAs I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow, \/ Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow\u2026\u201d (1-2). Eventually, the \u201cpretty babe\u201d (4) appeared, shed \u201cfloods of tears\u201d for those who would not share in his warmth (5), explained that he came to \u201cwash [the sins of men] in [his] blood\u201d (14), and then \u201cvanished\u201d (15), leaving the narrator to call \u201cunto mind that it was Christmas day\u201d (16). We are given precious little insight into the poet’s thoughts, and baby Jesus\u2019 mind is revealed solely through his actions and what he verbalizes to us. Riding Westward<\/em>, on the other hand, occurs in no specified setting other than the mindscape of the poet. The word \u201cRiding\u201d in the title is one of its few indications of physical setting, and indeed that word is likely chosen to reflect the spiritual motion and searching reflected in the first ten lines as much as it is Donne\u2019s method of locomotion. Moreover, the entire structure of the poem serves to focus one on internal flow and movement. Although unified in their meaning, Donne’s poetic metaphors flow in something approximating stream-of-consciousness, leaping among topics like the heavenly \u201cspheres\u201d (3), the \u201crising\u201d and \u201csetting\u201d of \u201ca Sun\u201d (11-12), \u201cthose hands which span the poles\u201d (21), Jesus\u2019 \u201cmiserable mother\u201d (30), and Donne’s desiring to \u201creceive \/ Corrections\u201d from the punishment of his Lord (37-38). This difference can at least partly be attributed to denominational differences. \u201cThe Catholic poet, like Southwell\u2026generally maintains a distinction between the meditating subject and the object of his meditation, whereas the Protestant poet often unites them, so that events in the life of Christ are reenacted in his heart, as they are in the Protestant communicant\u201d (Elsky 82-83).<\/p>\n

But this is not to say that everything is contrary between the poems. Many elements show a unified meaning between them, or a cohesion of similar metaphors and messages. For instance, eyesight unites the poems as an indication of spiritual devotion. Donne frequently equates eyesight and seeing with understanding in his poetry, and he does so in Riding Westward<\/em> as well (Sherwood 114). Referring to the crucifixion of Christ, he writes, \u201cYet dare I almost be glad I do not see \/ That spectacle, of too much weight for me\u201d (15-16). Donne, who has been wrestling with the message of the cross, here restates his point in multi-leveled poesy. Donne indicates that he is glad that he does not have to witness the death of his beloved Lord, as such a spectacle would bring too much sorrow to his heart. But, in the same sentence, he is also saying that he, being a sinful and small-minded man, is almost glad that he does not \u201csee\u201d or \u201ccomprehend\u201d the significance of Calvary as the utter Truth of it is far too weighty and profound for him. Southwell uses a similar image in line three of his poem, when he says, \u201cAnd lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near\u2026.\u201d Here, \u201cfearful eye\u201d could also be rendered \u201cfear-filled eye,\u201d meaning that he reverently and respectfully turned his gaze to God. This harkens back to such Biblical passages as Psalms 52:6, which states that \u201cthe righteous will see and fear.\u201d Southwell’s attitude of spiritual devotion apparently has entitled him to this private appearance by the Christ child. Again, when the infant \u201cvanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away\u201d in line fifteen, another Biblical passage, (such as John 16:5-7), seems to be referenced: \u201cNow I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.\u201d This is evidenced by the fact that immediately following Christ’s departure, Southwell was granted a closer glimpse of God through the truth of the moment: \u201cAnd straight I call\u00e8d unto mind that it was Christmas day\u201d (16). With God, out of sight does not necessarily imply out of mind.
\n
\nAnother example of a metaphor that both poets share compares our purification to the smelting of an impure metal in a heated forge. Actually, Donne frequently symbolizes the soul and the will using metals, and here the process of purification must be instigated by punishment from God (Sherwood 113). Riding Westward<\/em> states, \u201cI turn my back to thee but to receive \/ Corrections, till thy mercies bid thee leave. \/ O think me worth thine anger; punish me; \/ Burn off my rusts and my deformity\u201d (37-40). Donne’s poem focuses on the conflict between soul and body, between sacred and profane, and he concludes that although he knows what is right, God’s punishment is required to beat him into the submission of actually following through with his cleansing. As he says, \u201cHence is ‘t, that I am carried towards the West \/ This day, when my soul’s form bends toward the East\u201d (9-10), and \u201cRestore thine image so much, by thy grace, \/ That thou may’st know me, and I’ll turn my face\u201d (41-42). Southwell also dictates the necessity of God’s forging men’s souls, but in his poem the forge is none other than Jesus himself: \u201cMy faultless breast the furnace is\u2026The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defil\u00e8d souls\u2026So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood\u201d (9-14). Southwell seems to differ with Donne here over the method of purification, for while Donne required personal God-delivered punishment on himself, Southwell insists that the punishment for sin was atoned for by Christ alone. He specifies that \u201c[Jesus’<\/em>] faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns<\/em>, \/ Love<\/em> is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns<\/em>\u201d (9-10, emphasis mine). The burden of sinful rebellion against God is taken up by Jesus Christ out of nothing less than love for men and desire \u201cto work them to their good\u201d (13).<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most important tropological similarity between the poems is that both use a burning, flying object to manifest Jesus Christ. For Southwell, the object is the infant Jesus Christ himself, the Burning Babe. For Donne, the object is the rising sun, which grows hot on his back as he rides Westward. Nevertheless, the sun strongly figures Jesus in Donne\u2019s poem: \u201cThere [in the East] I should see a Sun, by rising, set, \/ And by that setting endless day beget: \/ But that Christ on this cross did rise and fall, \/ Sin had eternally benighted all\u201d (11-14). Donne makes use of the frequent Sun\/Son play on words in Christian poetry, but he uses the rising and setting in a perhaps unexpected way. When one hears of \u201csetting\u201d and \u201crising\u201d applied to Christ, one is likely first to think of Christ\u2019s death and resurrection. However, Donne uses the sun\u2019s rising to figure Christ\u2019s being lifted high onto the cross (not unlike when Jesus himself says, \u201cJust as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up\u201d in John 3:14), and the sun\u2019s setting to figure his death. Christ\u2019s dying therefore results in \u201cendless day\u201d for the believer, which is why Donne can say, \u201cThere I should see a Sun, by rising, set, \/ And by that setting endless day beget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, for both Southwell and Donne, the burning Christ is an object in motion. Southwell\u2019s Christ, \u201cvanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away\u201d (15), and if we follow the reading that Christ\u2019s burning appearance was intended as a kind of evangelistic summons to follow after him, then the reader finds himself inclined to chase after the vanishing marvelous babe. Yet Donne\u2019s Christ pursues him, and this Christ must purify Donne\u2019s sins before he turns toward his savior: \u201cI turn my back to Thee but to receive \/ Corrections\u2026 Burn off my rusts and my deformity\u2026 and I\u2019ll turn my face\u201d 37-8, 40, 42). Further, although both Christs burn, Donne\u2019s Christ burns others (\u201cO think me worth Thine anger; punish me; \/ Burn off my rusts and my deformity\u201d [39-40]) while Southwell\u2019s Christ burns himself in order to purify the sins of mankind (\u201cA pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear; \/ Who, scorch\u00e8d with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed\u201d [4-5]). The flaming Christological image clearly stands as the metaphorical focus of both poems, and one marvels at what differing poetic creations can spring from one figurative source even while each retains this same pictorial center of gravity.<\/p>\n

It may be worth making one further point, though. Without denying that Donne\u2019s work exists in a primarily internal, reflective realm, Donne\u2019s words anticipate a time soon to come when the unspecified landscape in which he rides will be awash in the rays of the burning sun. He describes the sun as begetting \u201cendless day\u201d (12), he expresses the extreme power of the rising sun as \u201cThat spectacle, of too much weight for me\u201d (16)\u2014indeed his metaphor would liken the sun to \u201cGod\u2019s face\u201d (17)\u2014and he declares that this sun would have the power to \u201cBurn off [his] rusts and [his] deformity\u201d (40), which is why as yet he dares not cast his eye upon it. In other words, though it is presently imagined, Donne describes a world where the burning sun is the dominant and overpowering image. The poetic setting, one might say, is little more than the blazing sun itself. On the other hand, Southwell\u2019s burning Christ is startling for its sudden appearance and heat precisely because it does not define the setting of the poem. Southwell\u2019s poem begins, \u201cAs I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow, \/ Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow\u201d (1-2). It is Christmas day, after all, and Southwell\u2019s poem is one of cold dark shivering until the burning babe appears. In other words, while Donne\u2019s Christ characterizes all that he surveys, Southwell\u2019s Christ establishes a contrast and exists as a minority voice, which laments, \u201cYet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!\u201d (8).<\/p>\n

One wonders if there is not some correlation between each poet\u2019s conception of Christ and their respective religio-political situations at the time. In other words, Donne the Anglican lives in a country where all that he surveys is officially (if not actually) Anglican. Yes, no one is fooled into thinking that there are no dissenters present, but, after all, Donne\u2019s Christ is one that is practiced in burning away rusts and deformity. Southwell\u2019s Christ, though, appears suddenly within a setting that does not seem hospitable to or consonant with his fiery presence. Indeed, as nearly as one can tell, this Christ comes as a private vision and may not even be visible to anyone else around. At the very least, there seem to be no other observers nearby to notice. The Burning Babe comes almost as a voice crying out in the wilderness, summoning faithful ones to follow him and lamenting that he seems to be the only one experiencing the warmth of his redeeming fires. Moreover, one wonders what kind of pagan wasteland (so to speak) the speaker was wandering in to have been able to forget in the first place that it was Christmas day! Surely this is a place where winter dominates, and flashes of light and hope come as a miraculous exception, not the rule. Perhaps this is putting it too strongly, but no artistic work is created in a vacuum, and one wonders what roles these two poets\u2019 respective religious contexts played in shaping their rendering of their savior.<\/p>\n

How strange it is that two poets who differed in so much could nevertheless complement each other so well. Donne died a well-respected and celebrated preacher; Southwell died an enemy of the people, executed for his variant beliefs. Both, though, dedicated their lives to the glory of God. The Burning Babe<\/em> focused on the birth of Christ, while Riding Westward<\/em> centered on his death, but the poems could act as bookends to the Christian life, for Donne’s Christ remembers past sacrifice while Southwell’s Christ points towards future redemption. Although each addresses a different facet of it, both poets are heavily directed by a Christian view of time, with the liturgical calendar holding strong sway over the poetic meaning. The poets emphasize alternative facets of Christian living but not so much so that their messages are irreconcilable. Donne’s harsh insistence of purification through suffering echoes the instruction in Luke 9:23, that whoever would seek to follow the way of God “must deny himself and take up his cross daily\u2026.\u201d Southwell’s hopeful evangelism does not fail to complete the verse: “\u2026and follow me.”<\/p>\n

This paper was presented at the C. S. Lewis Foundation\u2019s triennial Summer Institute, Oxbridge<\/a>, in the summer of 2005.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Works Consulted<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abrams, M. H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature<\/em>. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993.<\/p>\n

Carballo, Robert. \u201cThe Incarnation as Paradox and Conceit in Robert Southwell’s Poetry.\u201d American Benedictine Review<\/em> 43:3 (Sept 1992): 223-232.<\/p>\n

Elsky, Martin. \u201cHistory, Liturgy, and Point of View in Protestant Meditative Poetry.\u201d Studies in Philology 77 (1980): 67-83.<\/p>\n

Janelle, Pierre. Robert Southwell the Writer: A Study in Religious Inspiration<\/em>. Mamaroneck: Appel, 1971.<\/p>\n

Maurer, Warren R. \u201cSpee, Southwell, and the Poetry of Meditation.\u201d Comparative Literature<\/em> 15 (1963): 15-22.<\/p>\n

Sherwood, Terry G. \u201cConversion Psychology in John Donne’s Good Friday Poem.\u201d Harvard Theological Review<\/em> 72 (1979): 101-122.<\/p>\n

Sullivan, Ceri. \u201cDonne’s Sifted Soul.\u201d Notes and Queries<\/em> 42:3 (Sept 1995): 345-346.<\/p>\n

White, Helen C. \u201cSouthwell: Metaphysical and Baroque.\u201d Modern Philology: A Journal Devoted to Research in Medieval and Modern Literature<\/em> 61 (1964): 159-168.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry Ward Beecher once said, \u201cThe strength of a man consists in finding out the way God is going, and going that way.\u201d Both John Donne and Robert Southwell would likely agree with this assessment, though, ironically, their lives took strikingly different paths from one another. Donne and Southwell were both born into staunchly Roman Catholic families in the late 16th Century, at a time when Catholicism was illegal in England. However, Donne eventually renounced his denomination in favor of the more popularly accepted Anglicanism while Southwell, even in the face of oppression, remained an underground Catholic and was eventually executed for his beliefs. Although both poets turned their words to Holy Matters, Donne wrote from within the system, whereas Southwell used his words to subvert it. Comparing Southwell’s The Burning Babe to Donne’s Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward casts into sharp relief the poets\u2019 conflicting perspectives, but it also accents the remarkable similarities that they nevertheless retain toward one another. Although their methods and style may differ, it is clear that Donne and Southwell are seeking the same God.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[182,181,183],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature","tag-donne","tag-john-donne","tag-poet"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}