Herbert's Metaphysical Poems
In the first portion of The Temple, specifically Perirrhanterium, Herbert prescribes the didactics necessary for the instruction of the catechumen in a simple, straightforward manner. As the reader moves into the main section of The Church, the author’s poetic wit becomes more complex in both its style and depth of topic. Although the starkness of the messages in Herbert’s metaphysical poems is not as palpable as those of the Church Porch, their ability to teach both abstractly and visually affords them a didactic nature much like the parables of Christ.
In basic parabolic structure, the speaker conveys a heavenly message through the simpler and more easily digestible use of an earthly comparison, such as the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, which compares the productivity of seeds to the growth of Christians. Christ presents a divine truth in the basic analogy of a parable, as the OED describes it: “A fictitious narrative (usually of something that might naturally occur), by which moral or spiritual relations are typically set forth, as the parables of the New Testament.” Herbert utilizes a similar strategy in his poetic comparisons, often taking the process a step further by including visual cues to aid the reader in his understanding of the message; as Bloch points out, “his larger purpose…was to teach like the prophets in a nondiscursive way, to present symbols that the reader could experience in all their constrictions and expansions” (206). Three examples of Herbert’s use of the parabolic structure in his metaphysical poems include “Easter Wings,” “Paradise,” and “Heaven.”
The author’s mastery of the metaphysical conceit is evident in each work as he leads the re...
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...s. ed. John Tobin. London: Penguin Group, 2004. 38.
---. "Heaven." George Herbert: The Complete English Poems. ed. John Tobin. London: Penguin Group, 2004. 177.
---. "Paradise." George Herbert: The Complete English Poems. ed. John Tobin. London: Penguin Group, 2004. 124.
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A recurring theme in the poetry of Richard Wilbur is one of God and Christianity. Biblical references can be found throughout his work, even in poems that have little to do with religion. However, this theme is quite prominent as there are several poems contain more than passing references. Wilbur provides in these poems ideas that Christians can identify with, either in the Christian lifestyle or straight from the Bible.
..., 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.
Waggoner, Hyatt H. "A Writer of Poems: The Life and Work of Robert Frost," The Times Literary Supplement. April 16, 1971, 433-34.
In the Poem "The Bunch of Grapes", George Herbert uses the story of the Israelites in the wilderness during their Exodus, to illustrate Christianities progress. Additionally, through this poem, Herbert also compares his or the speaker's discontentment in life that has a strong connection with the Old Testament versus the comfort that the New Testament has to offer.
4) Marshall, William. From A Review of the Landscape, a Didactic Poem, 1795. in The Sublime: A Reader in British 18th Century Aesthetic Theory. Ed. Ashfield, Andrew and de Bolla, Peter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Sund, Judy. "The Sower and the Sheaf: Biblical Metaphor in the Art of Vincent van
Throughout the text of Milton’s Paradise Lost, we can see many instances of binary relationships connecting separate conceptual ideas. The construction of "authorship" in the poem exists as a good example of just such a relationship. This theme incorporates two very different ideas in the poem, and is central to the understanding of issues concerning the creation and use of power.
We have spent a good deal of this semester concentrating on the sublime. We have asked what (in nature) is sublime, how is the sublime described and how do different writers interpret the sublime. A sublime experience is recognizable by key words such as 'awe', 'astonishment' and 'terror', feelings of insignificance, fractured syntax and the general inability to describe what is being experienced. Perception and interpretation of the sublime are directly linked to personal circumstance and suffering, to spiritual beliefs and even expectation (consider Wordsworth's disappointment at Mont Blanc). It has become evident that there is a transition space between what a traveler experiences and what he writes; a place wherein words often fail but the experience is intensified, even understood by the traveler. This space, as I have understood it, is the imagination. In his quest for spiritual identity Thomas Merton offers the above quotation to illustrate what he calls 'interpenetration' between the self and the world. As travel writers engage nature through their imagination, Merton's description of the 'inner ground' is an appropriate one for the Romantic conception of the imagination. ...
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...t, Stephen, gen. ed. “Paradise Lost.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2012. Print. 36-39.
“Paradise Lost.”* The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt and M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. *(page). Print.
Living in a period of important religious and cultural flux, John Milton's poetry reflects the many influences he found both in history and in the contemporary world. With a vast knowledge of literature from the classical world of Greek and Roman culture, Milton often looked back to more ancient times as a means of enriching his works. At other times, however, he relies on his strong Christian beliefs for creating spiritually compelling themes and deeply religious imagery. Despite the seemingly conflicting nature of these two polarized sources of inspiration, Milton somehow found a way of bridging the gap between a pagan and a Christian world, often weaving them together into one overpowering story. The pastoral elegy Lycidas, written after the death of a fellow student at Cambridge, exemplifies this mastery over ancient and contemporary traditions in its transition from a pagan to a Christian context. Opening the poem in a setting rich with mythological figures and scenery, then deliberately moving into a distinctly Christian setting, Milton touches upon two personally relevant issues: poetry and Christian redemption. In this way, Lycidas both addresses the subject of being a poet in a life doomed by death and at the same time shows the triumphant glory of a Christian life, one in which even the demise of the poet himself holds brighter promises of eternal heavenly joy.
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
Milton, John. ‘Paradise Lost.’ 1674. Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000, 1: 1817-2044.