Metaphors In Batter My Heart

The implied metaphor in the first quatrain is the word ‘batter’ in the line “Batter my heart, three person’d God: for you.” This is metaphoric in the sense that it is implies comparison of a human’s heart into a material thing that has to be hit or hammered to get fixed. If the author speaks of having his heart battered, then it implies a feeling or status of being broke. It is only broken things like a damaged chair or table that need to hammered or battered in order to be repaired. With this metaphor, the persona complains of having a heart so numb and absurd. The persona seemed to be experiencing problems that makes him so weak and helpless, that he felt no one and nowhere to run to except to God. With that complaint, the persona asked God to use his holy power to make changes in him. The persona asked God to fix his broken and wounded heart to soften it and to

Allowing one’s self to be taken entails giving up of independence. The persona shows here that he allowed God to take over him. He completely declares in the second quatrain his lack of strength to defend himself. He allows himself to be captivated and ruled by God. The persona entirely surrendered himself to God. He is weak. He got no strength even to make his own decisions and be him, because as he likened himself to an ‘usurpt towne’, he knew and admits that he can be given command and he would just follow. While it is a natural tendency to defend one’s own land against enemies up to the last strength and drop of blood of its people, the persona proved weak and untrue to defend himself. Like a seized town, he became a captive but not of others, himself. He became a captive of his own weakness, and so he called and sought the help of God to renew and change