"Without a Hand to Hold"
Analysis and Interpretation of "The Preacher Ruminates: Behind the Sermon"
Gwendolyn Brooks' "The Preacher Ruminates: Behind the Sermon" gives an eerie look into a minister's mind. Indeed the poem's premise is made clear from the opening line: "It must be lonely to be God" (1). The poem proceeds to note that while God is a much-revered and respected figure, he has no equal. The preacher's revelation provides the reader a unique perspective into religion. Brooks points out due to God's position of omniscience, it is not possible for a figure like Him to have friends. Throughout Brooks' poem, the preacher implores the reader for answers to his questions, finally concluding that to be God is indeed a lonely life and that God must tire of it from time to time.
"The Preacher Ruminates: Behind the Sermon" is a lyrical poem. Indeed, the title itself lends evidence to the poem's genre. It brings forth the feelings and voice of a clear speaker: the preacher. The poem does not tell a story nor does it relate a series of events, further reinforcing the classification as a lyric. The poem is also closed form, made up of four quatrains, or four-line stanzas. The lines are a combination of run-on and end stopped lines that dictate the rhythm.
Brooks' word choices for both connotations and denotations shape the readers' understanding of the preacher. Upon first reading the poem, the only unfamiliar word I found was "hosannas" (3). The dictionary defines it "a cry of praise to God" ("Hosanna"). This is the only definition of the word that I was able to uncover, and with the overall religious discussion of the poem, it fits in with Brooks' overall topic. Brooks uses several references to praise in line with "hosannas" ...
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buy him a Coca Cola or a beer" (11) as a front to a much more somber message, namely that it is illustrating that to be God is to be friendlesswithout peer. Not being of Christian faith myself, I do not have a good insight into Christianity and its ideals, but the belief that God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent certainly leads me to believe that Brooks' preacher is correct in saying that He has no equal. Thus, the poem delivers a haunting view into a different side of a figure that Christians worship each Sunday. As is evidenced by the preacher's thoughts, Brooks' poem illustrates that God is indeed "without a hand to hold" (16).
Works Cited
Brooks, Gwendolyn. "The Preacher Ruminates: Behind the Sermon". Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. 500-1.
Stanza three, lines one through four state "Lord, make my Soule thy Plate: thine Image bright/ Within the Circle of the same enfoile./ And on its brims in golden Letters write/ Thy Superscription in an Holy style." It seems that, more than anything, Taylor wants to be as godly as possible, and reflect His image. He goes back to being 100% faithful to God when he says he wants his soul to be God's plate, or coin. Then in Stanza three, lines five and six it says "Then I shall be thy Money, thou my Hord:/ Let me thy Angell bee, bee thou my Lord." It reciprocates the idea that Taylor wants to be God's money, or chosen worker, but then it takes a turn not mentioned in the rest of the poem. It states that he wants God to be his "Hord". Although the meaning is not totally clear, Taylor seems to imply that, not only is he God's laborer, but God is storing up treasures in heaven for him through his work. This is what we as Christians should strive to do in this life.
Our second poem displays the lost meaning of religion, confusion of love and how our misinterpretations on both lead us to think. Take for instance this line: “No way is [he] bringing me home. He wants someone to fix his religion.” Humans constantly want another human to give meaning to their lives in any kind of way. Some even go as far as interpreting sex and one night stands as actions of sincere love. Our secondary character is trying to find meaning in his religion once more, probably thinking if he finds someone to have sex with, eventually they’ll fall in love and it’ll give his life meaning again, ultimately “fixing” his religion. The character’s self-doubt about his religion and his actions to recuperate that meaning displays the lost meaning of religion. The line “Believe me I love religion, but he’s too quiet when praying” shows the lack of knowledge in America when talking about religion. Praying is a sacred time for people to talk to God and be thankful for them or to ask for guidance. Stating that “he’s too quiet when praying” shows a kind of lost in the meaning of religion, as it’s not a thing that’s enforced as much as it was decades
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
Warnock, Adrian. "Loving God: A Guide for Beginners." adrianwarnock.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. .
O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." X. J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Joe Terry. Pearson, 2012. Print. 10 Feb. 2014.
..., but still pleads for God to "take me in" (ll. 41), and promises to "pay...in happiness" for mercy. Once again, the speaker demonstrates the same desires for physical treasures that he expresses in the first stanza as he asks God to "give mine eye / A peephole there to see bright glory's chases" (ll. 39-40). Even in the God's kingdom, the speaker reveals his humanity as he focuses on ornamentation which starkly contrasts with God's divinity as He has the ability to show love even for sinners.
The early white settlers had a hard time defying their own sinful desires and striving for holiness. This was especially seen in the works of Edward Taylor, who was a puritan pastor during the early days of America. In his poem, I Am the Living Bread, he mentioned, “This Wicker Cage (my Corps) to tweedle praise Had peckt the Fruite forbad: and so did fling Away its Food; and lost its golden dayes;” In this context, Edward Taylor is struggling to defy sin that his body offers because it will kill him eventually, and strives to acquire the grace of God that would sustain him. In
The speaker of “On Being Brought from Africa to America” conveys her point through irony when referencing her so-called savior. The author of the poem, slave-girl Phillis Wheatley, is thought to be embodied by the speaker. This girl, the voice of the poem, states “Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land… there 's a God...there’s a Saviour too” (1-3). The use of the rhetorical distinction between god and saviour to indicates that the owners of the speaker are supposed to be her saviors since they bought her as their slave, raised her in Western culture, and taught her how to read and write. While these special circumstances indeed did elevate her above other slaves, the speaker’s subversive disdain shows us that this “mercy” has cost her too. She was robbed of her family, her heritage, and ultimately a life of freedom and equality.
Literature has been a medium for getting messages across for centuries. Various authors from Aesop to Shakespeare have used writing as a vehicle to get a message across to their audiences. All of these authors are widely respected and admired for their works. One author who transcends her peers and breaks away from traditional secular teaching is Flannery O’Connor. She is widely known for her usage of Christian themes to get across a message of our worlds need for a savior in Jesus Christ. Her style of writing is unique in that she conveys spiritual messages in everyday, fun-to-read stories. This is important as it creates a medium in which she can spread the gospel in a clever manner. Image books stated, “Her expert craftsmanship, her uncanny ability for characterization, the depth and intensity of her morality-combined in strict discipline-make her one of this generation’s most respected authors” (Books, Image 1). Flannery O’Connor uses various themes to get across a religious message, but the two that have a large impact are grace and suffering. The themes of grace and suffering can be seen in her short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, “The River”, and “The Lame Shall Enter First”. The themes of grace and suffering in Flannery O’Connor’s short stories are used to represent Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. Fourth ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
During the first four lines of the poem the speaker feels like God has been very generous to him, he feels that God is almost too friendly and that he has been too caring. Donne feels that in orde...
Lee, Edward Bok El Santo Americano. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 4th Ed.
Edward Taylor’s Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children and Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold are similar in their approach with the illustration of how beautiful and magnificent God’s creations are to humankind. However, each poem presents tragic misfortune, such as the death of his own children in Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children and the cold, enigmatic nature of human soul in Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold. Taylor’s poems create an element of how cruel reality can be, as well as manifest an errant correlation between earthly life and spiritual salvation, which is how you react to the problems you face on earth determines the salvation that God has in store for you.
Guest, E. (n.d.). SoFinesJoyfulMoments. Retrieved May 8, 2006, from Mary (Garren) Morand Web site: http://sofinesjoyfulmoments.com/quotes/sermon.htm
Using this method, he successfully engages the congregation through descriptive narratives and relating ideas to current times. As part of the narratives he includes descriptive biblical stories beginning with the story in his text, claiming it as a “scary story”. He further re-enforces this scary story concept by sharing two more biblical passages where a scary story exists. These biblical narratives are the beginning of what Wilson would call the second page of the sermon where the trouble in the text is given. This of course was preceded by his first page that discussed the idea of having scary stories in our lives today (trouble in the world) by using a vivid personal illustration. He continues to use vivid illustrations to hammer in his focus on the church needing to be friends to the downtrodden because God responds that way. He designs the third page to share the Gospel in the text reminding us that God responds to continual injustice by sending his son to be the friend that everyone needs. The one who stands up for injustice and never leaves your side. Finally, he concludes with the fourth page by demonstrating how churches can live the gospel in the world today. They do this through friendships with people in their surrounding community whose stories might be