Holy Sonnet XI: Spit In My Face You Jews, And Pierce My Side

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Spit in my face you Jews, and pierce my side,
Buffet, and scoff, scourge, and crucify me,
For I have sinned, and sinned, and only he
Who could do no iniquity hath died:
But by my death can not be satisfied
My sins, which pass the Jews' impiety:
They killed once an inglorious man, but I
Crucify him daily, being now glorified.
Oh let me, then, his strange love still admire:
Kings pardon, but he bore our punishment.
And Jacob came clothed in vile harsh attire
But to supplant, and with gainful intent:
God clothed himself in vile man's flesh, that so
He might be weak enough to suffer woe.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

33 sec read
138

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAAACADEFGHH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 585
Words 112
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

John Donne

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

All John Donne poems | John Donne Books

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    "Holy Sonnet XI: Spit In My Face You Jews, And Pierce My Side" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22524/holy-sonnet-xi:-spit-in-my-face-you-jews,-and-pierce-my-side>.

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