Read the excerpt below and answer the question.
Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you As yet but knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend; (“Holy Sonnet XIV: Batter My Heart”; lines 1–2)

The meter of these two lines is:

u/ u/ u/ u/ u/
u/ u/ u/ u/ u/

u/ u/ u/ u/ //
u/ u/ u/ u/ //

/u u/ u/ u/ //
/u u/ u/ u/ u/

/u u/ u/ u/ u/
u/ u/ // u/ u

This pattern represents one of the forms of poetry structure which is called iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a poetic form that consists of alternating five pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables and each line features ten syllables. In the case of the excerpt presented above from the sonnet “Batter My Heart” by John Donne (1633), the first line has 10 syllables with alternating five pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables.

vaduz vaduz · Answer 2 · 2020-04-23T05:25:02+02:00

Answer:

u/ u/ u/ u/ u/

Explanation:

The Holy Sonnet XIV by John Donne is a sonnet appealing for a restoration of the soul by God. The speaker of the poem is appealing to God enter his heart in a violent manner, not even requesting for gentle intervention.

The given lines are the first two lines of the sonnet. This poem is written in the iambic pentameter form of poetry, where each line has ten syllables, or iambs. And these syllables are in alternating meters, where the unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable.

Thus, the meter of the two lines is

u/ u/ u/ u/ u/