Summary

The opening sonnet of the sequence begins on a note of resignation as the speaker asserts, "As due by many titles I resign / Myself to thee, O God" (1-2), establishing that this particular poem will be addressed to God from a penitent speaker. As the poem continues, the speaker elaborates on how he has devoted his life to God and how willingly he has given himself over to Jesus Christ: "I am thy son, made with thyself to shine, / Thy servant, whose pains thou hast still repaid. / Thy sheep, thine image" (5-7). By line 8, however, the tone and content of the poem begin to turn as the speaker announces that he has "betrayed [him]self" (7-8) before asking in line 9, "Why doth the devil then usurp in me?" (9). As the poem comes to a close, the speaker describes the paradox between his devotion...