“If Poisonous Minerals”

“If Poisonous Minerals”

John Donne writes the poem “If Poisonous Minerals” as a question to God in an accusatory tone. There is a complete shift in the ninth line as he becomes apologetic and knows that he should never question God and who he is supposed to be as a person. Donne was writing in an accusatory, harsh, and critical tone towards God and was asking him questions of why things were a certain way. Donne is writing about how he should not be responsible for his sins as animals are not punished for their indecencies. Examples in his poem of which he compares himself to are lecherous goats and envious serpents. Donne says he should not be responsible for his actions as his models in life are Adam and Eve, who created the original sin.
The tone shift comes when Donne writes “But who am I that dare dispute with Thee?” In the second part of this poem, he is realizing that God makes things happen for certain reasons and like the Noah’s Flood washed away all things, his tears will create a new man. He will wash his sins away with tears and forget his faults and mistaken ways before he realized that God had a plan for everyone. John Donne wants God to forget about his many blunders and favor him as a person who is doing good.
The tone shift is very important in this poem as it is the most noticeable and important aspect of the poem. Without the tone shift, the poem would be completely different and not give the same meaning to Donne or his readers.