"Thou hast made me" is the first of The Holy Sonnets, a series of poems on religious belief and uncertainty by English metaphysical poet and Anglican cleric John Donne. Written between 1609 and 1611, The Holy Sonnets were published posthumously in 1633. This first sonnet is a sinner's plea for God's grace in the face of death. The ailing speaker, looking back on their life's wrongdoings, recognizes that only through God's help can they resist the devil and achieve heavenly salvation.
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1Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?
2Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste,
3I run to death, and death meets me as fast,
4And all my pleasures are like yesterday;
5I dare not move my dim eyes any way,
6Despair behind, and death before doth cast
7Such terror, and my feebled flesh doth waste
8By sin in it, which it towards hell doth weigh.
9Only thou art above, and when towards thee
10By thy leave I can look, I rise again;
11But our old subtle foe so tempteth me,
12That not one hour I can myself sustain;
13Thy grace may wing me to prevent his art,
14And thou like adamant draw mine iron heart.
1Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?
2Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste,
3I run to death, and death meets me as fast,
4And all my pleasures are like yesterday;
5I dare not move my dim eyes any way,
6Despair behind, and death before doth cast
7Such terror, and my feebled flesh doth waste
8By sin in it, which it towards hell doth weigh.
9Only thou art above, and when towards thee
10By thy leave I can look, I rise again;
11But our old subtle foe so tempteth me,
12That not one hour I can myself sustain;
13Thy grace may wing me to prevent his art,
14And thou like adamant draw mine iron heart.
Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?
Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste,
I run to death, and death meets me as fast,
And all my pleasures are like yesterday;
I dare not move my dim eyes any way,
Despair behind, and death before doth cast
Such terror, and my feebled flesh doth waste
By sin in it, which it towards hell doth weigh.
Only thou art above, and when towards thee
By thy leave I can look, I rise again;
But our old subtle foe so tempteth me,
That not one hour I can myself sustain;
Thy grace may wing me to prevent his art,
And thou like adamant draw mine iron heart.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
The Poem Read Aloud — Listen to a recitation of "Holy Sonnet 1."
John Donne Biography — Read a brief summary of Donne's life and work, courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.
The Holy Sonnets — Check out all 19 of Donne's Holy Sonnets.
The Metaphysical Poets — Learn more about the metaphysical poets from this short reference entry in Encyclopedia Britannica.
An Early Manuscript of Donne's Poems — Browse a 1632 handwritten manuscript of Donne's poems, including "Thou hast made me" on page 25. Courtesy of Harvard's Houghton Library.