Thoughts on Holy Sonnet 7 (4 in our book because it had bad editors )

When I was initially taking Lit I was afraid, because i didn't really have experience analyzing poems or finding deeper meaning in words etc etc . To be frank I still don't feel confident when I am asked to analyze poetry but that is what's great about a blog , you can simply talk about what you think about the poem and you are not required to understand every little thing about it . Reading John Donne's Holy Sonnet #7 brought a very vivid image to my mind . I imagined a man standing in the center of a flat earth and speaking up to a dark cloudy sky in which four angels held trumpets. I don't why I imagine Judgment day as dark , but I guess it is because I believe there are more bad people in the world than good. So this man in the poem calls upon the souls of people who have died and who are to come and be either sent to heaven or hell. Then he goes on to ask the Lord to allow them to rest some more and asks for guidance in how to repent himself why he is still on Earth. In general this is a very powerful image to me. One human ready to watch a million souls being judged and him worrying about his own sins. I believe this scene really shows human nature and how what we fear the most is being judged. Yes we all sin, but I don't think we ever truly regret it unless we are being judged be it by others or by ourselves . We have that constant need to be in control and to be forgiven , because we don't want to feel bad for what we do, and if someone else seems it bad , it just makes it real. The character in this sonnet is wanting to give the souls of dead more time . I imagine it is really him who needs more time to come in touch with what it is he thinks he's done wrong and to be forgiven . What I think we really need after a certain bad decision is to be forgiven by ourselves, and thus we seek forgiveness in God ( those who believe in him anyway) because usually by God's forgiveness we are truly able to forgive ourselves . This is what I really respect and like about Donne's work . Though it does talk about religious ceremonies and the love towards God , he exemplifies something fundamentally human in his writing and makes are actions real and okay ! In general I really liked the sonnet because not only did it being a pretty picture to my mind , but it made me think about what really it is we seek after making a certain decision and taking a certain action.