The correct answer is 4: The speaker implores God to use violence to break him so that he can be made new.
In this Holy Poem 14, “Batter my Heart”, by John Donne, the poet is addressing God directly and he is implying that the usual way God enters into everybody’s life is not enough for the poet. The poet does not need gentle manners: to knock, to shine, to mend.
On the other hand, in order to let God get into his life, he needs a tough hand: to force, to brake, to blow and burn. This is likely because the poet might consider his soul and heart are too corrupt for such gentle ways.
The paradox, or apparently contradictory idea, here is to attach God such a violent behavior.
