Exploring Christian Values in George Herberts Poem A Wreath - Research Paper Example

Exploring Christian Values in George Herbert’s A Wreath A poem can have many interpretations. There are times when a poem needs to be read repeatedly to be understood fully. Such is the poem by George Herbert titled, “A Wreath.” This poem can look very simple from the first reading but it actually contains several thoughts relating to Christian values, especially the relationship between God and man. Reading the poem repeatedly can help readers realize the real meaning and purpose of the author. Moreover, consulting other works relating to the poem can lead readers to a more in-depth understanding of the poem. The poem is a rather short poem of 12 lines. In this poem, the speaker talks about a wreath, which is a garland popularly used during Christmas time. A wreath is composed of flowers and leaves arranged in a circle. In the Christian tradition, it comes with vigil candles. The speaker offers the wreath, referring to it as a garland of “deserved praise” (Herbert 1). This phrase differentiates the wreath from other garlands. Saying that the wreath deserves praise implies that God, the one to whom it is offered deserves even better praise than the garland itself. Indeed, the addressee in the poem deserves higher reverence than the wreath. Giving God such respect denotes a persona with Christian values and suggests the tone of the poem to be reverent. Kronenfeld (291) notes that the use of the wreath in the poem is reflective of Christian values. Taking from the Bible (Isaah 28: 1-5), he explains the distinction between wreaths, those for the drunkards of Ephraim which are to be trampled upon and those for the Lord, which are beautiful crowns of glory. To find out whether the poem is really imbued with Christian values, readers have to search background information regarding the poem. In particular, the background of the author will help establish the purpose and determine reference on the structure of the poem. According to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, George Herbert was an Anglican priest born in 1593. His identity as a priest supports the view that the poem is imbued with Christian values. In addition, Herbert was born during the Renaissance Period, further explaining the structure and central idea in his poem. To note, humanism started during the Renaissance Period, thus the central idea of the poem is Herbert’s expression of humanism as the speaker in the poem reflects on his life, thus “My crooked winding ways, wherein I live,—” (Herbert 4). Here, the speaker uses a metaphor, comparing his life to crooked ways. He believes that life in God is supposed to be straight, saying, “For life is straight, straight as a line…” (Herbert 5-6) but due to his weaknesses as a human being, his ways have been crooked, imperfect, and flawed. The persona further expresses Christian belief as he corrects himself. First, he claims that he lives in crooked ways, yet he retracts that and says it is where he dies, thus: “Where I die, not live…” This line connotes the Christian belief in the existence of the soul and life after death. The speaker feels that sinning or being in crooked ways makes his heart or soul feel weak and dead, thus confirming his belief in the eternal life. This idea gives clues to the purpose of the poem that is to provide an example of how a Christian should see his life. In particular, the poem implies the need to contemplate on one’s life, ask forgiveness for sins, and strive to live a good life, which can be attained through simplicity. Furthermore, the poem promotes Christian beliefs such as divine power and life after death. One thing that makes the poem unique is the hierarchy that the author establishes. He places God above all, above deceit and simplicity. Herbert uses metonymy with the term deceit but the hierarchy suggests that deceit pertains to worldly ways. Simplicity is placed below deceit, thus confirming the grandeur of God. Fig.1 illustrates Herbert’s hierarchy. Fig. 1 Hierarchy established in the poem The persona desires to make himself worthy of his Creator. He requests God to make him simple, saying, “Give me simplicity that I may live” (Herbert 9). This explains that the speaker feels his ways have become crooked due to living a non-simple life. Similarly, the “crooked ways” he is talking about may pertain to life in luxury. Conversely, simplicity could mean poverty. Given this, Herbert also attempts to promote humility before God as he embraces poverty. Obviously, Herbert makes use of repetitions of the final words in some lines: My crooked winding ways, wherein I live,— Wherein I die, not live; for life is straight, Straight as a line, and ever tends to Thee, To Thee, who art more far above deceit (4-7) It is easy to say that Herbert uses these repetitions to emphasize a point. Likewise, such rhetorical devices, also known as anadiplosis help make the poem sound rhythmical. However, in a critical essay, Carpenter (51) claims that the rhetorical repetition of some words gives a childlike surface to the poem. This childlike attitude is necessary to make the speaker submissive to the will of God. The result of this repetition is a reverent, humble and heart-felt tone, which according to Carpenter (51) further results in complexity and beauty. On a different note, the repetition of the final words in the beginning of the succeeding lines establishes a continuity that resembles the shape of a wreath. Margaret (54) and Kronenfeld (294) opine that the wreath in the poem is used as a central metaphor to represent his real offering to God, which is actually his poem. For both critics, what the persona wishes is for his writing to be worthy of God’s attention, thus he requests God for simplicity, a characteristic that he already possesses or tries to possess through anadiplosis. Following this interpretation, the critics reveal the standards for poetry, one that befits the taste of God. Nevertheless, if this analysis was true, the purpose of promulgating Christian values and tradition will be forfeited and only the promotion of poetry as an art will come up. A review of Herbert’s other poems can give light to the argument above. For example, in his poem, “A Dialogue,” Herbert presents a dialogue between man and God. God tries to win the man from his sin by saying, And My clay, My creature, would  Follow My resigning;  That as I did freely part  With My glory and desert,  Left all joys to feel all smart---- (27-31)  The lines of the poem reflect Herbert’s concern about obedience to God’s will and salvation. The final part of the dialogue shows how man is overwhelmed by the grace of God. The man expresses this, saying, “Ah no more! Thou break’st my heart. Realizing how God loves him despite his sins and unwillingness to obey God’s will, man feels too much guilt, a feeling that is likewise reflected in “A Wreath.” In “A True Hymn” published 1886; Herbert provides his idea of a good verse, thus: Whereas if the heart be moved, Although the verse be somewhat scant, God doth supply the want; As when the heart says, sighing to be approved, “Oh, could I love!” and stops, God writeth, “Loved.” (A True Hymn 16-20) The lines above prove that Herbert prioritizes the sincerity of the heart over the beauty of the verses. He believes that God will supply what is missing to perfect art. In spite of the seeming agreement between the minds of the two critics, Albrecht (130) confirms the idea of the metaphor revolving around the wreath and the poet’s life and not his art. Albrecht acknowledges how Herbert refers to the offering as a poor wreath that represents his life, which he hopes to be a “crown of praise” (Herbert 12). The use of metonymy is another characteristic of Herbert’s poem. Further to the substitution of words like simplicity for poverty and deceit for worldly things, Herbert uses the phrase “live and like” (Herbert 10) to mean responsibility and freedom. The speaker asks God to grant him ‘simplicity” so he can do what he ought to do and choose to do what God commands. Living is an automatic human activity; we can live or breathe without consciously doing so but liking something involves our decisions and choices. Therefore, by asking simplicity in order to “live and like,” the speaker wants to obtain God’s grace direct all his actions towards God’s ways. Being a poet during his time, Herbert has established an artist’s credibility of one aiming for perfection. Hence, modern critics who are much conscious of the technicalities of art arrive at the conclusion that more than the perfection of the soul, Herbert was aiming for the perfection of art. This is similar to the idea that Herbert is more of a poet than a priest. However, those who acknowledge Herbert as a priest more than a poet would possibly perceive Herbert’s aim to perfect his spirit more than his art. In choosing between these two propositions, this paper has clearly established agreement with the second idea, that more than poetry, the wreath that Herbert offers to God is his whole life and soul. Works Cited Albrecht, Alberta. Herberts “Deniall, Jordan I & II,” and “A Wreath” Explicator (Expl). 2002. 60 (3): 127-31. Carpenter, Margaret. From Herbert to Marvell: Poetics in “A Wreath” and “The Coronet.” Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 69, 1970; 50-62. Herbert, George. 2012. Encyclopedia Britannica OnlineWeb. 2 April 2012. Herbert, George. A True Hymn. The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse. New York: John Wurtele Lovell, 1881: 289. ---. Dialogue. 2003. Poemhunter.com. Web. 30 March 2012. ---. A Wreath. The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse. New York: John Wurtele Lovell, 1881. 289. Kronenfeld, Judy. Herberts "A Wreath" and Devotional Aesthetics: Imperfect Efforts Redeemed by Grace. ELH, Vol. 48 No. 2, 1981; 290-309. Read More