George Herbert ( )

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Thomasina Newman
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2 George Herbert ( ) Son of Magdalen Herbert, patroness of Donne! public orator at Cambridge! change of fortune, became a rector at Bemerton, a small village in Wiltshire! While most sons of prominent families would regard the post of non-resident ministry as a sinecure, Herbert took it seriously. He became, to the villagers, Holy Mr. Herbert, the restorer of the church (the expense was paid out of his own pocket), the visitor to the sick and the poor, and the consoler at the bedside of the dying.

3 he appears, from what his biographer says, to have been extremely ambitious, as Donne had been.! he took Holy Orders after a period of of intense personal suffering which came on him when the massive progress of his secular career faltered. It was perhaps the clash between his ambition and his piety that created the analytical tension out of which most of his best poems were written.

4 Sir, I pray deliver this little book to my dear brother Ferrar, and tell him he shall find in it a picture of spiritual conflicts that have passed betwixt God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus my Master; in whose service I have now found perfect freedom; desire him to read it; and then, if he can think it may turn to the advantage of any dejected poor soul, let it be made public; if not, let him burn it; for I and it are less than the least of God s mercies.

5 Herbert Grierson on George Herbert: He would speak of sacred things in the simplest language and with the aid of homeliest comparison.

6 The Temple (1633)! He was a friend of Donne, and must have been very familiar with Donne s poems which were circulated through manuscripts! clearly show the influence of Donne in his use of conceits, wit, and colloquialism

7 Human is God s Temple, where the Spirit of God dwells! triadic structure: The Church-Porch, The Church, Church Militant! Hieroglyph: pictorial language of the Egyptians to convey the secret, sacred meaning! Hieroglyph as a conceit that ties the title, stanzaic form, and sacred meaning together

8 Metaphysical conceits (Herbert chose homely imagery, unusual but not shocking)! Colloquialism! Paradoxes! many phrases, comparisons, and motifs are from poems of profane love of the time! Relationship of the speaker to God (or Jesus) is metaphorically compared to many familiar kinds of relation: master & servant, friend & friend of inferior status, bridegroom & bride, innkeeper & traveler, etc.

9 In comparison to Donne, who was a poet of religious doubt, Herbert was truly a poet of religious faith. Although some of his best poems show the frustration of thwarted secular ambition, he seems to always reach the cool, calm resolution with God. Most of his poems always end with the speaker s pious submission to God, and is full of confidence that God will accept him.! His Temple is open for the humblest and simplest person to enter

10 Dedication Nature vs. Art, Humility vs. Pride, Piety vs. Creativity, Religious office vs. Secular ambition; these are the basis of Herbert s poetic struggle! Three requests to God: 1) to accept him and his sacred poem, 2) to inspire him, so he may praise God justly and correctly, 3) to make worldly men interested in his work! hesitation, revision in line 2 & consciously defensive in line 6 aware of his own pride? and that what he is doing (i.e. writing poem) is unnatural and deserving blame?

11 The Altar broken (l. 1) - post-lapsarian soul! hard heart (l. 10) - the soul is stony and lacking grace (also a play on Petrarchan hart-heart ); it also has a positive connotation: durability! the speaker is a fallen but repentant man who strives to worship God! hold my peace (l. 12) - i.e. die, rest in peace! conceit: stone altar ~ this poem shaped like an altar made from the poet s hard heart! stone cement cut homely, construction term. Herbert himself was the restorer of the church.

12 Easter Wings Easter: celebration of Christ s resurrection! conceit: bird s wing, cross-tree! Shaped poem. The widest and narrowest point in the poem mirrors the speaker s spiritual state.! imp - bird s care term! Paradox of the Fortunate Fall; flight of a fallen soul through Christ s resurrection

13 Virtue carpe diem motifs: day, dew, rose, spring! not to seize the day but to cultivate virtues! compacted (l. 10 ) - compressed, like Donne s contracted! music (l. 12) - this poem which is intended to be sung! gives (l. 14) - yields! last word of each stanza: die die die lives ; transience vs. permanence, immortality! conceit: seasoned or processed timber

14 Jordan (II) River Jordan which the Israelites crossed in order to enter Canaan! literary baptism! luster quaint trim (neat) swell - negative connotations, deviation from the way of God and nature! sell (l. 6) expense (l. 18) - commercial term (secular career or ambition)! a voice of a good friend (conscience) at the end calling him back to his former way! copy (l. 18) - poet as imitator, not maker.

15 Easter stz. 1 - furnace imagery! stretched sinews (l. 10) - reminiscent of Donne s For if the sinewy thread my brain let fall (The Funeral) or Our eye-beams twisted, and did thread / Our eyes upon one double string (The Ecstasy)! Christ s stretched sinews - macabre, verging on grotesque! three parts (l. 15) - heart, lute, and thy blessed spirit ; also three stanzas each in the poem and the song

16 The Pulley construction term, the pulley s descending and ascending movement emphasizing the paradox of Fortunate Fall! glass of blessings (l. 2), pour (l. 3) - baptismal image! contract (l. 5) compare with Donne s the world's contracted thus (The Sun Rising) or Who did the whole world's soul contract, and drove / Into the glasses of your eyes (The Canonization)! Humanizing God as a father who yearns to keep his son! pun on rest - repose (peace, contentment) / remainder (i.e. the rest)

17 The Pilgrimage Allegory - two levels of narration! stages or aspects of human life, the journey of soul towards God! angel (l. 17) coin, guardian angel! ll anticlimax! a voice at the end of a poem! chair - rest; also, a sedan chair

18 Death Personification, physical features of death! compare with Donne s Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so (Holy Sonnets)! grotesque image of a corpse! bridal imagery

19 Aaron self-portrait of the poet! 5 letters in the name, 5 line in each stanza, 5 stanzas in the poem! parallelism

20 Love Unknown Dramatic situation: speaker & his friend! Landlord & tenant: God has leased out two lives (l. 5) to the speaker, one in this world, and one in the next! grotesque descriptions of the speaker s heart being washed, boiled, bathed in blood, and pierced by thorns! concluding with the friend s voice (the same friend from the beginning of the poem)

21 The Collar pun: collar / choler / caller! Direct speaking voice, dramatic situation, psychological realism! ll rebellious passion calling him to the pursuit of secular ambition! ll sacred voice of conscience calling him back to reason! thorn (l. 7) of suffering, to let me blood (l. 8) - transfusion, bleeding as a healing method / cordial (l. 9) - restorative! neither thorn nor fruit can restore him

22 wine (l. 9) - vigor, youth (also Christ s blood), corn (l. 10) - food, fertility / both are lost too! bays (l. 14) - poet s crown! fruit (l. 17) - Adam s fruit from the three of knowledge symbolizing intellectual pride! double pleasures (l. 20) - unclear; possibly mean that he wants in indulge in twice the pleasure in order to make up for the time he had lost! thy cage, / Thy rope of sands (ll ) - man s argument; weak; bad cable! Good cable (l. 24) - Word of God, the Bible! death s-head (l. 29) - human skull, memento mori! The voice heard in the last two lines is characteristic of Herbert.

23 Redemption Tenancy metaphor from medieval feudalism! (Also an allegory)! commercial terms: rich thriving lease! suit (l. 3) - petition <- conceit! Man s imperfect knowledge makes him ignorant of God s scheme.! God is also working towards new suit to redeem man.

24 Love (III) Inn s keeper/traveller, host/guest, (also seductress/ lover)! Personification! dust and sin (l. 2) - from the journey, also from the flesh.! eyes, I (l. 12) - pun. Also Aye or yes: speaker s acceptance of Love s generosity! meat (l. 17) - Christ s body

ignis fatuus, marsh gas

ignis fatuus, marsh gas The Mower to the Glow-Worms BY ANDREW MARVELL Ye living lamps, by whose dear light The nightingale does sit so late, And studying all the summer night, Her matchless songs does meditate;} Syntax vocative