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George Herbert's brilliant ingenuity lies in the simplicity and
sincerity
of his poems. What makes Herbert a unique poet in the history of
English
Custom Essays on george herbert
litersture is his intimate love for god. God, in the poems of Herbert
is
the loving father , and Herbert;s tone of intimacy startles readers.
As a
poet , h is quiter than donne. Douglas bush says (of Herbert) " he
does not
electrify the the nerves so often , so startlingly as donne, but he is
truly religious". Herbert excels in the description of the serenity
that
comes after the storm, the spiritual crisis. '
METAPHYSICAL POETRY, in the full sense of the term, is a poetry which,
like
that of the Divina Commedia, the De Natura Rerum, perhaps Goethes
Faust,
has been inspired by a philosophical conception of the universe and
the
rle assigned to the human spirit in the great drama of existence.
The term was originally intended to be derogatory. DRYDEN was the
first to
apply the term when he criticized Donne Samuel Johnson later used
the
term metaphysical poetry to describe the specific poetic method used
by
poets like Donne. ;. Dr johnson remarked that in the work of these
metaphysical poets "the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence
together".] Metaphysical poets were in rebellion against the highly
conventional imagery of the Elizabethan lyric. In addition to
challenging
the conventions of rhythm, the metaphysical poets also challenged
conventional imagery. Their tool for doing this was the metaphysical
conceit.. Herbert along with donne, marvell, and Vaughan belonged to
this
genre of poetry.
The quietness of tone and the serene acceptance of god's grace are
seen at
their best in the poem "love". Love used as a conceit, is the love of
god,
and in this poem love welcomes the poet, but his soul draws
back."guilty of
his dust and sinne" but "quick eyed love" observes his hesitation, and
draws nearer to him, questioning and reassuring him. When the poet
persona
expresses his fear that he is not worthy to be there, love assures him
that
he shall be the worthy guest. When the poet finds it difficult to look
at
love because he has been "unkinde, ungrateful" love takes his hand,
smiles
and says" who made the eys but I?". Love reassures him that the blame
for
al lof man's sins has already been born. The poem moves to its quiet
but
deeply moving ending "you must sit down says love and taste my
meat/so I
did sit an eat".
"the collar" a much more complex poem is one of herbert's finest. The
poem
describes a moment of rebelliousness. "I struck the board, and cryd,
No
more.
I will abroad."
.the poet persona is not prepared to accept any more restrictions
onhis
freedom. "my lines and life are free, free as the the roads". What
follows
is a - an assertion of freedom, a complaint of grievances against the
life
of devotion out of which the poet intends to break, leading to a
boastful
challenge to the alleged morbid seriousness and paralysing timidity of
the
life the poet is renouncing. The world is rich and beautiful . there
is
'wine' and there are 'fruits' ; there are 'flowers' and 'garlands'.
They
are not all "blasted" or wasted". Then comes the beautiful, quite
ending
which brings this urge of rebelliousness to a close." But as I rav'dd
and
grew more fierce and wild, at every word, me thought I heard one
calling,
child! , and I replied, my lord!".
.
The Flower
In The Flower, the poet persona t celebrates the joy that accompanies
the
spiritual renewal which follows the times of trial. Though he has
experienced this many times, yet each time it happens the joy is as
boundless as ever. In the second line of the poem he likens this to
the
regeneration of "the flowers in spring" and thereafter writes of
himself as
if he were such a flower.
The flower, loving the return of spring, but fearful of a late frost,
and
certain that winter will eventually come again, longs for the
perpetual
spring of "...Paradise where no flower can wither". By its selfishness
and
sinfulness it is watered and tries to seize heaven by its own growth;
such
arrogance must then be punished by Gods anger, more severe than any
frost.
Yet Gods severity is remedial not malicious; when the lesson is
learned,
the flower may be allowed to put out new growth. This is its nature,
its
proper function in the eyes of God, and its delight. Mans joy is to
be
found in doing the proper, appointed duty, however high or humble,
which he
has received from God. This delight is asserted in the last stanza of
the
poem
" And now in age I bud again,
After so many deaths I live and write;
I once more smell the dew and rain,
And relish versing 0 my onely light,
It cannot be
That I am he
On whom thy tempests fell all night"
The Flower concludes simply Gods purpose is to show us "we are but
flowers that glide", to let us acknowledge our limitation and
inconsequence; yet, paradoxically, if we can see this, the reward is
great
God "has a garden for us, where to hide". It is those who want more
than
this, swollen by their arrogance or eminence, who will "Forfeit their
paradise by their pride".
Jordan opens in a colloquial manner. The very title suggets crossing
boundaries of secular love into the world of poetry where poetry wil
lspeak
of love for god. The title may signify both the crossing from the
vanity
and paganism of the rest of the world into the truth and holiness of
the
land of promise".
Herbert , in the poem challenges the style of such poets who address
their
subject in an indirect manner "Is all good structure in a winding
stair?"
The metaphor suggests circumlocution the subtlety and finesse of
these
poets is seen as a dislike or disdain of plain speaking .In his second
stanza Herbert cites some of the clichs of the pastoral lyric
(showing
both the trite idea and the trite expression of it) "enchanted
groves",
"sudden arbours", and "purling streams". Moreover, where the work is
not,
say, that of Spenser, Raleigh or Sidney, but of their less gifted
imitators, the specialised diction and stock landscapes are used as
camouflage for the crudity of the "course-spunne lines".
In the final stanza, Herbert makes it clear that he has no quarrel
with the
pastoral writers
"Shepherds are honest people; let them sing"
This is ambiguous "shepherds are truthful" or "shepherds are people
in the
real world". The right of fictitious shepherds to behave as in the
pastoral
is thus, ironically, earned by the virtue of the real shepherd.
Herbert does not mind who should choose to "riddle" (or "pull for
Prime"
(as long, , as they will allow him to write plainly and not accuse him
of
being unpoetic.
The reference to "losse of rime" seems to be a pun on "rime" in its
archaic sense of "poetry" Though Herberts concern in this poem is to
vindicate his own writing poetry which is not cryptic and which
addresses
the real God rather than the idols of a dead civilisation - yet he
anticipates later critical debate.
There is some irony that the poem, which argues for plainness, is, in
itself, far from plain. The rhetorical questions leave too little room
for
positive assertion .general notions have to be inferred from
particular
examples, and some of the metaphors (to say nothing of the title) are
not
at all easy to understand with any certainty (such as the "winding
stair",
the "shepherds" with their singing, or pulling "for Prime"). Herbert,
,
takes delight in ridiculing by imitation the obscurity he denounces.
His
playfulness here is regretted in a later poem. Jordan (II) in which
the
argument for simplicity is stated in plain and sober terms.
In denial , the speaker as a poet wants to sing a song of praise for
god.
Yet god denies himdevotion,that is not reciprocated. "when my
devotions
could not pierece,thy silent eares,then was my heart broken as was my
verse..".This unables him to write a verse that praises the joy and
glory
of god. His mind is like a brittle bow where his thoughts like the
arrow
move haphazardly . the poet persona's mind is at war. A confused mind
that
can find no peace.
Herbert's imagery is more homely and accessible than Donnes
outlandish
conceits if nothing is too exotic for inclusion in Donnes verse,
nothing
is too ordinary for inclusion in Herberts.
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