Analysis Of George Herbert's Man

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Man: A Look into the Centrality of Mankind

In George Herbert’s Man, Herbert gives homage to God, and the centrality of man. The main point of the poem assumes that since God is the greatest being of all, and God created humanity, then human beings are great as well - greater than credit is given. It focuses on the concept that man is a microcosm, or a small-scale model of the world, and that every part of the body has a facet of the world of which it is equal. Man is a poem that has fully formed stanzas - each stanza can be viewed as a separate point, and has it’s own central metaphor. When all of the stanzas are added up, they act as points in an essay, each a fully developed argument on the importance of man, and humanity’s closeness with …show more content…

It is the duty of the sea to act as a navigation system, so humanity is always going in the right direction. It also acts as a way for us to get the water we need to survive, to catch the food man needs for nourishment, and provide cleanliness, which is equal to godliness. This stanza portrays water as a friend, that guides us in the right direction, and a parent that provides us with everything needed to survive and be prosperous. This once again strikes home the point that the world is an extension of God, created to bring mankind ultimate pleasure - the water that He created acts as a willing servant, and parental figure, such as God is usually …show more content…

Herbert seems to use personification liberally to bring his points across and flesh out his metaphors. A good example of this is in the sixth stanza, where Herbert makes the sun, stars, night, music, and light have independent thought and reason - the stars put us to bed, and music and light attend our head, much like a parental figure or caring friend. He makes them have human emotions and thought, something more poignant and clarifying to the average reader - characterization like this develops and gives more of a plot and flow to the poem, which helps the reader understand his meaning and follow his thought much

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