Metaphysical poetry: critical analysis of George Herbert's Love (3)
Whether it was religion or love, the metaphysical poets had their own way of writing poetry on topics concerning the human experience. Though history doesn't speak much about them, their contribution to English literature speaks a lot. Anyways, the poet I'm going to talk about is George Herbert, one of the major metaphysical poets, with special emphasis on the critical analysis of his Love 3.
Love 3 is the last poem of Herbert's poetry collection "The Temple". Written in the form of a dialogue, the poem is the third in the series of love poems of the collection. Spending the later years of his life in religious activities, George Herbert, through this collection, wanted to draw his readers' attention to the experience of true eternal love i,e God's love. Which is why, in the earlier two poems, he explains how, the love for God is higher than the human experience of love, which mostly is an "usurping lust", in his opinion. Love 3, being the last poem of the series as well as of the collection, clearly states how love for God is the highest kind of love for George Herbert.
The poem presents an equivocation of love for Lord (God). Throughout the poem, Love is personified as a host ('Love bade me welcome') whereas the speaker becomes a guest. The identity of the speaker is not clarified. In fact, the readers don't even know if the speaker is human or not. However, there are humanly qualities given to the speaker, such as soul, eyes, the act of sitting down and eating, feeling guilty, etc. The metaphysical poets' characteristic way of writing involved the use of far fetched images to describe everyday experiences. This is what distinguished them from the other popular poets of their time. Here too, George Herbert, in order to describe the act of Communion, uses the image of the interaction between a host and a guest.
I think by now, it would be clear that the work is not merely a love poem. Instead, it has many layers of interpretation. The poem can also be read as a reason for Herbert's consideration of God as love. The poem celebrates God's compassion towards his disciples. Though the speaker states that he has 'marred' the eyes given by "Love" (God), is 'guilty of dust and sin', Love insists him to sit with Him and 'taste his meat'.The underlying idea is clearly stated in the last stanza, where the speaker asks Love(God) to let his shame go 'where it doth deserve' and replying Love says 'and know you not who bore the blame?' . No matter how many sins we commit, it is the realization of those sins and the guilt which we feel at the end, that matters. God is compassionate enough to accept us if only we accept our wrongs.
Even if we take the poem literally, it's emphasis on true compassion, despite various ups and downs in the relationship between the lovers, is perfectly expressed. Lastly, the rhyme scheme(ABABCC) and tone of the poem help the reader to experience the mood of the speaker as well as the poet. My personal suggestion for someone who hasn't read the poem would be to try, after reading the poem, and make out as many interpretations as you can, of the poem. This in turn will make it more interesting to read and understand.
Love 3 is the last poem of Herbert's poetry collection "The Temple". Written in the form of a dialogue, the poem is the third in the series of love poems of the collection. Spending the later years of his life in religious activities, George Herbert, through this collection, wanted to draw his readers' attention to the experience of true eternal love i,e God's love. Which is why, in the earlier two poems, he explains how, the love for God is higher than the human experience of love, which mostly is an "usurping lust", in his opinion. Love 3, being the last poem of the series as well as of the collection, clearly states how love for God is the highest kind of love for George Herbert.
The poem presents an equivocation of love for Lord (God). Throughout the poem, Love is personified as a host ('Love bade me welcome') whereas the speaker becomes a guest. The identity of the speaker is not clarified. In fact, the readers don't even know if the speaker is human or not. However, there are humanly qualities given to the speaker, such as soul, eyes, the act of sitting down and eating, feeling guilty, etc. The metaphysical poets' characteristic way of writing involved the use of far fetched images to describe everyday experiences. This is what distinguished them from the other popular poets of their time. Here too, George Herbert, in order to describe the act of Communion, uses the image of the interaction between a host and a guest.
I think by now, it would be clear that the work is not merely a love poem. Instead, it has many layers of interpretation. The poem can also be read as a reason for Herbert's consideration of God as love. The poem celebrates God's compassion towards his disciples. Though the speaker states that he has 'marred' the eyes given by "Love" (God), is 'guilty of dust and sin', Love insists him to sit with Him and 'taste his meat'.The underlying idea is clearly stated in the last stanza, where the speaker asks Love(God) to let his shame go 'where it doth deserve' and replying Love says 'and know you not who bore the blame?' . No matter how many sins we commit, it is the realization of those sins and the guilt which we feel at the end, that matters. God is compassionate enough to accept us if only we accept our wrongs.
Even if we take the poem literally, it's emphasis on true compassion, despite various ups and downs in the relationship between the lovers, is perfectly expressed. Lastly, the rhyme scheme(ABABCC) and tone of the poem help the reader to experience the mood of the speaker as well as the poet. My personal suggestion for someone who hasn't read the poem would be to try, after reading the poem, and make out as many interpretations as you can, of the poem. This in turn will make it more interesting to read and understand.
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