Lyric Poem · Peace
Holy Sonnet XIX: Oh, To Vex Me, Contraries Meet In One
by John Donne
1Oh, to vex me, contraries meet in one:
2Inconstancy unnaturally hath begot
3A constant habit; that when I would not
4I change in vows, and in devotion.
5As humorous is my contrition
6As my profane love, and as soon forgot:
7As riddlingly distempered, cold and hot,
8As praying, as mute; as infinite, as none.
9I durst not view heaven yesterday; and today
10In prayers and flattering speeches I court God:
11Tomorrow I quake with true fear of his rod.
12So my devout fits come and go away
13Like a fantastic ague; save that here
14Those are my best days, when I shake with feare.
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“Holy Sonnet XIX: Oh, To Vex Me, Contraries Meet In One” by John Donne — quilloak.com/poems/holy-sonnet-xix-oh-to-vex-me-contraries-meet-in-one
Quick facts
- Poem
- Holy Sonnet XIX: Oh, To Vex Me, Contraries Meet In One
- Poet
- John Donne
- Length
- 14 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Peace, Love
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
- Line length
- Lines run 9-12 syllables (median 10), consistent with pentameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- John Donne1572–1631
- Source record
- PoetryDBHoly Sonnet XIX: Oh, To Vex Me, Contraries Meet In One by john-donne, PoetryDB transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- Not recorded in the imported source
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 408f58136e12f14f…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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