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Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

George Herbert is one of the most memorable religious poets and was a contemporary of John Donne; they were both known for using imagery and rhetoric in their works. His anthology of poems The Temple reflects a sense of poetry as prayer and devotion in worship to God. It can be said that Herberts poetry is almost like a conversation with God, the poems The Altar and Easter Wings show this by the way that Herbert uses allusion to biblical verses and language to portray a sense of praise to God, also in particular a poetic technique known as Carmen figuration is also used in Easter-Wings to further the idea that Herberts poetry is like a conversation with God. The Collar however portrays a more argumentative relationship between God and the poet, by using metaphor and colloquial language to express this. All of these poems however start with surrender and end with a realisation of Gods unending love and grace, with different ways of showing this theme in each of the poems. The argumentative relationship that is describe, is seen in The Collar; Herbert does this by using colloquial language and metaphor. The title of the poem itself could refer to the white band worn around clergy-mens necks, also perhaps as a tie that forever submits and binds the clergy-man with God; perhaps referring also to the lifelong servant-hood that a priest undertakes. Overall The Collar is about the struggle to keep a true and constant faith in God, and the rebellious nature of someone who is sick of the restrictive forces placed upon them because of their role in the church. This could also be a reflection of Herberts own struggles, although we have never heard of them, as a priest. The colloquial manner in which the poet is speaking is prevalent in the first couple of lines in the poem, where he cries out his frustrations to God; My lines and life are free, free as the road (line 4), arguing that his life is free, why does he have to be restricted by the priesthood. Furthermore this could also be a comparison to the restricted life he lives in Gods name and to those who live in freedom, and live of the world. Throughout the poem we see the speaker arguing and questioning God,

Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

Have I no bays to crown it? / No flowers, no garlands gay? (Lines 14-15). This could perhaps be anger at the fact that there is no reward on earth for him, for being a godly and faithful servant. In the fourth stanza however the poet becomes even more belligerent, as he seeks to recover all that has been lost in the battle to satisfy the worldly and the godly, and he cries; Leave thy cold dispute .. Forsake thy cage Thy rope of sands Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee. (Lines 21-23) Now the uses of metaphors used in this particular stanza, like the cage (line 21) and rope (line 22), could be seen as either the restraints placed on him by God, and the duties of being a clergy man. Where he is begging God to let him free of these restraints so he can live a free life. But it can also be seen as the petty thoughts (line 23) of worldly desire and lusts that have got him caught up in his anger, and fight for freedom from God, he has completely forgotten about the spiritual, and is instead being caught up on the physical. But finally in the last stanza we see a complete change in tone of the poem, and we see the poet leaving all his arguments behind after hearing Child (line 5), in which he reverts back to his respectful demeanour towards God. Although one-sided, his argument is over-powered by the gentle and calming voice of God calling him out of his petty thoughts and the poet is reminded of the love of the Father, which was mistaken for restraint and he realises that faith in God is truly the only way, by replying My Lord (line 36). We are also reminded of Gods understanding at our doubts, confusion, and sometimes our weakness to give in to our fleshly desires, and that he will always be available to listen to us. But in turn we must be like the poet and listen to Him too when and if we ask for His help.

Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

The relationship seen in the next two poems however is one where there is a conversation, albeit mostly one-sided, between the poet and God. The Altar is a perfect example to show how Herberts poetry is a conversation with God. The very shape of the poem suggest an altar of worship, this is a poetic form known as an emblem poem, where the poet uses a visual representation of what the poem is about. The poem starts off with the poet coming in supplication to God, and decides to build him an altar, this is an allusion to when God asked Moses to build him a temple in Exodus 20. Also when the poet speaks of A broken altar cemented with tears (lines 1-2), it is alluding to the Lord wanted broken bits of rock to form this altar that he had requested of Moses, perhaps referring to how the Lord want us to come to him broken and with tears in order for Him to work in us. Furthermore when the poet talks of the hardness of the material where it resembles A heart alone / Is such a stone, in which because of our hard hearts we are unable to see and feel the pain of others and are not open to the grace of God to work in our life, we are in denial of the awesome power of God and hence harden our hearts toward Him. But in the next couple of lines we see Herbert making a decision in which he claims; Wherefore each part Of my hard heart Meets in this frame To praise thy name (lines 9-12). Basically even with his hard heart he is still willing to make himself a sacrifice to God, this is further seen when he declares That, if I chance to hold my peace, / These stones to praise thee may not cease (lines 13-14). This perhaps is an allusion to when Jesus arrives on the back of a donkey into Jerusalem to the peoples praises and acclamations of the Messiah, whereby some Pharisees get angry and tell the people to be quiet, in which Jesus replies If they keep quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers. (NLT Translation) The

Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

poet is declaring that even if the pressures of the world get him down and harden his heart, he will still offer this altar as worship and adoration to God. The final two lines refer to the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus, and the fact that he died for our sins, and pleads that thy blessed sacrifice be mine (line 15) and requests that God may receive his sacrifice, even if it is nothing compared to the self-sacrificial love Jesus gave to us on the cross. Throughout the poem we see that Herbert struggles to make an acceptable sacrifice to God, and asks God to receive him just as he is, broken and not ready at all. But we are also assured that God is not a cruel or heartless God; that he wants us to come broken, not to make him feel powerful, but because he loves to heal and mend us. Because God is love. Easter-Wings is another poem written by Herbert which supports the idea that his poetry is like a conversation with God. Herbert uses a form of poetry call Carmen figuration, this is when there is a manipulation of the overall shape of the poem to mimic the poems subject. This is seen in each stanza where the tone of the poem reaches a low slowly then rises slowly when realising the glory of God, which mimic the shape of the flight of a bird. The first stanza starts off with Herbert admitting the amazing thing God did by creating man in wealth and store (line 1), and then how we foolishly lost it (line 2), referring to Adam and Eves fall in the garden of Eden. Herbert then talks of how man slowly but constantly is decaying more and more / Till he became / Most poor (lines 3-5), because of the sin that is within us. But then the last five lines of stanza one show the unending act of Gods grace, in which Herbert asks God to let [him] rise / And sing this day thy victories (lines 7,9). Herbert also speaks of how the fall will further the flight (line 10), meaning that when we fall, God is strong for us and lifts us up; alluding to the verse in the Bible where it is written that Gods power is made perfect in weakness and when I am weak, then I am strong found in the second book of Corinthians.

Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

In Stanza two however we see the personal testimony of Herbert, as he starts the stanza off with My tender age in sorrow did begin (line 11). In which he speaks of how he became most thin (line 15) in the life that he was living void of God. In lines sixteen and seventeen he meditates on how God chose him, and requests God With thee / Let me combine, so that he can feel the victory that is in Christ. Repetition is also used in this poem, perhaps to signify the repeating pattern of the poems structure and incorporate the repeating movement of the wings of a bird. The repetition in lines ten and twenty where he requests that his weak moments may advance the flight in me (line 20) may allude to the second coming of Christ, where we will leave this world behind, and fly away with Christ to join him in heaven. The last line, very much like line ten, enables the reader to see that flying cannot be achieved without having to fall first. The words Herbert uses perhaps are seen as words of gratitude of Gods grace and mercy, that he would take a sinful man like him and let him imp [his] wing on thine (line 19). Furthermore the movement and picture of the wings could also allude to the inconsistency of mans relationship with God, prompting us to acknowledge that although God doesnt want us to come perfect, he still wants our commitment. But even if this doesnt happen, we can be assured that God is always consistent and will always take us back. These poems all have one thing in common, they all end in the realisation, or if not the confirmation of the never ending power of Christ. The Collar can be used to demonstrate the sometimes argumentative relationship with God, and then with one word, or one prayer we immediately are reminded of Gods grace. The Altar and Easter-Wings however show the relationship which is conversational, and we realise all we have to do is come just as we are, and God will still accept us. Using various poetic forms and techniques, such as metaphor and colloquialism in The Collar, Carmen figuration and allusion in EasterWings and The Altar respectively, Herbert further solidifies the fact that his poetry is very

Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

much a conversation and sometimes an argument with God, but as the quote states we always knows how it ends. Reading the poetry of Herbert has further encouraged me in my own Christian walk with God, in my own life, I find myself sometimes at odds with God about being a Christian, and what that entitles us to do, say and act. Sometimes I argue with God, and question how other people are having fun living in the world, where as I am not, and then sometimes I am struck down and lost for words when I am reminded of the wonderful love of Christ, and the fact that he chose me and loves me.

Chris DSouza 5801245 English 210 Monday Tutorial 12-1pm

Bibliography: 1. Hollander, John and Kermode, Frank, ed. The Literature of Renaissance England. Oxford University Press, 1973. 2. Harman, Barbara Leah. Costly Monuments: Representations of the Self in George Herberts Poetry. Harvard University Press. 1982.