- George
Herbert
- Came
from Aristocratic family, excelled as student at Cambridge, chose to retire to
small country parsonage for last three years of his life--Bemerton, where he developed
reputation for holiness and humility
- The
Temple--Collection of poems published after his death
- Architectural
structure combining many elements and structures within one another, modelled
upon symbolic architecture of the Bible: Noah's ark, the tabernacle and Ark of
Covenant, Solomon's Temple, the New Jerusalem in Revelation.
- Coding
and Decoding
- Allegory
and Parable--like biblical stories, especially those of Jesus, Herberts poems
tell stories with characters who represent abstractions and have strong hidden
moral--Redemption
- Emblematic
uses of meaning--the visual and sound components of poems often resemble or reinforce
the emotional and spiritual meanings and the dramatic progression. The poem itself
as hieroglyphic or icon of meaning.--the Altar or Easter Wings
- Herberts
poems often are about themselves as they unfold in structure-and move from disorder
to order e.g. "Denial" or "The Collar"
- Biblical
influence is pervasive
- Repeated
references and allusion to the Old and New Testatments, especially those contrasting
one with the other.
- "Redemption"
- use
of landlord tenant image, plays on surprise and reversal, leading to sudden illumination
of what God has done for the person who doesnt expect the gift.
- Dual
perspective of human and divine in landlord-tenant opposition
- "Love
3"--concluding poem in The Temple--very quiet ecstasy, opposite to Donne's
- Dialogue
of retiring soul and gracious host or hostess--allusions to many biblical passages
about grace--undeserved blessing especially apt for a person who feels modest.
Plays on "the Host" and wedding feast in Revelation
- Characterization
of divine grace as aristocratic grace--noblesse oblige
- Progression
from reluctance to acceptance