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Analysis and comments on Holy Sonnet XIII: What If This Present Were The World's Last Night? by John Donne

Comment 1 of 1, added on April 21st, 2005 at 11:07 PM.

There is an ambiguity in this poem, possibly due to uncertain punctuation. "tell," at the end of the third line, governs the following subordinate clause, beginning with "whether," making it a question. As here punctuated, the "tell" also governs lines 5 and 6, making a threefold question governed by the verb "tell."

Some versions punctuate with a semi-colon at the end of the fourth line, in which case lines 5 and 6 become statements rather than questions.

It seems to me that it can be interpreted either way, but that how one reads that punctuation makes a big difference in the interpretation.





Information about Holy Sonnet XIII: What If This Present Were The World's Last Night?

Poet: John Donne
Poem: Holy Sonnet XIII: What If This Present Were The World's Last Night?
Added: Feb 21 2003
Viewed: 1299 times


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