the term dualism is employed in opposition to monism

Part II. Question 5.

“....the term dualism is employed in opposition to monism, to signify the ordinary view that the existing universe contains two radically distinct kinds of being or substance -- matter and spirit, body and mind” (Catholic Encyclopedia, online http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05169a.htm)

“According to substance dualism, our minds and our bodies are two distinct substances capable of existing apart.” (Descartes, Mind Body Dualism)

Donne’s poetry frustrates at once the Catholic dichotomy between spirit and flesh, and the later Cartesian dichotomy between mind and body. Moreover, in his poems Donne constantly contradicts himself. Some of his love poems seem to celebrate the spirituality, while others emphasize sexuality. In others he simply mingles the two.  A good example of the last mode is A Hymn to God the Father, where Donne explores both the theme of deep spirituality and physical carnality.

In the first stanza, Donne addresses God, inquiring whether God will forgive “that sin where I begun, which is my sin, though it were done before”. Donne speaks, of course, of the sin of sexual act. By referring to the original sin of Adam and Eve (“done before”), Donne partially relieves himself of responsibility for committing the sin. The words “where I begun” allude to the protestant belief that all people are born with sin, due to the only fact that they are born from sin of their parents. The lines “that sin through which I run, and do run still, though still I do deplore” suggest that Donne, being born from sin (“through which I run”), and repenting, nevertheless continues to sin, “and do run still”. “When thou hast done, thou hast not done, for I have more”, on literal level means that even if God forgives his sin, he (God) will not accomplish this forgiveness, because he (Donne) has more sins. However, here Donne may use a pun on words. Then these lines may be read like “When thou hast done, thou hast not Donne, for I have More” (Ann More is his wife’s maiden name). In this case, these lines mean that if God forgives him, he (God) does not have Donne (that is to say, Donne distances himself from God), because Donne has his wife More, to whom he feels an irresistible sexual attraction.

     In the second stanza Donne confesses that by his sin he “have won others to sin...and made my sin their door”. These lines suggest, that by his earthly love for his wife he inclined her to sin, too. “My sin their door” is a kind of salvation for his wife, maybe that is not the exact word, it is a kind of oblivion, but in any case the meaning here is very positive. Donne says that this sin is good, both for him and his wife, because when he “did shun [this sin] a year or too”, he “wallowed in a score” – he tried not to sin, but could not stand it. By confessing that he finds pleasure in committing the sin, Donne again distances himself from God.

     In the third stanza Donne, however, directs his eyes towards God. Here he expresses fear, that “when I have spun my last thread, I shall perish on the shore”. That is to say, when time comes for him to die, he will be deprived of God’s grace. His next words are pleading to God, “Swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son shall shine as he shines now and heretofore” – swear, that when I die, your grace, your mercy will shine. (Other sources read “thy Sun”, but son or sun, in relation to God the meaning is the same – God’s grace.). And if God does that, he has Donne, and Donne has no more reason to fear – “I fear no more”. However, some manuscripts read the last line like “I have no more”. Probably the poem is a retrospective on Donne’s sin he indulged to when his wife was alive – “I have no More”. And maybe only because he has no More, he tosses himself to God’s breast.

By giving the poem a title  A Hymn to God the Father, (let’s suppose that he did not title it himself, but anyway this poem is addressed to God the FATHER), Donne infringes the unity of the Christian God. (In his other poem he writes, “Batter my heart, three-personnel God”). Although he does mention Son in the third stanza, the lines “swear by thyself, that at my death thy son shall shine....” suggest, that Donne perceives Son separate from God, and probably even dependant on God the Father.

     Nevertheless, there is a slight dichotomy between the title of the poem and its content. This is a very erotic poem. Instead of being a hymn to God, I would argue, it is a hymn to sin. Nowhere in the poem does Donne repent or remorse. Although he asks for God’s forgiveness, it is forgiveness in advance, because Donne is not going to stop committing this sin. Thus, this poem presents a conflict between Donne’s spiritual piety and bodily passions, which he nevertheless succeeds to solve in his own favor.