Emblematic Arks in John Donne's "A Hymne To Christ" and the Antwerp Polyglot Bible (1568–73)

Abstract:Noah's ark ([inline-graphic 01] or thebah) fascinated the Christian Hebraist makers of the Antwerp Polyglot Bible. Their sacred philology interpreted thebah as a singular life-preserving vessel, and their Bible's elegant engravings of thebah insert Christ's crucified body inside it. "Christ's ark," as I call this emblem, figures the life-preserving Resurrection promised in Christ's sacrificial death. I argue that "Christ's ark" informs John Donne's "A Hymne to Christ." In its first stanza, Donne makes a distinctly personal emblem of "Christ's ark," which intersects with the hymn's controversial closing lines. These closing lines express faith in Christ's Resurrection, and, with His Resurrection, Donne's own.