Religion and Form in Herbert's "Easter-Wings"

George Herbert’s form poem “Easter-Wings” is a very religious poem that encourages the reader to praise God, not only to show our love for God, but also because it will serve to elevate ourselves. Herbert was described as “the only metaphysical [poet] whose whole source of inspiration was his religious faith” (Davidson 5). This faith is evident in “Easter-Wings”, especially in the overall message of the poem. The poem’s physical form, a pair of wings, is also significant as it demonstrates the distance between Heaven and Earth, and therefore God and man.

The poem begins with a plea from man to God. In lines one to five, the speaker describes man, or the general population really, as having gradually decayed over time, losing the “wealth and store” that God provided man with in the beginning, before the fall from Paradise (Herbert l.1). Using larks as a metaphor for men, the speaker requests that God allow us to rise up, praising him, so that we will praise Him more once we realize how far from Him we have become. The speaker is implying that the farther we are from God after we fall, the more we will show our praise. It is easier to praise God from earth than it is from Paradise because in Paradise there is little that we could be deprived of. On Earth we have to work to show our love for God, because we are not simply basking in the pleasures of Paradise, and we appreciate Him more.

The poem continues by illustrating the fall of man from Paradise, and how that affected our ability to praise God. In the fourth stanza, the speaker explains that after the fall of Adam and Eve, God gave humans the ability to feel shame, which makes us feel guilty for being so easily tempted into evil. Lines fourteen and fifteen describe how sin, and the guilt we felt because of it, made us weaker.

In the final stanza of the poem, the speaker describes man’s desire to please God and work with Him in order to show our love for Him. Our love for God will make us stronger, and redeem us. The final line of the poem, “Affliction shall advance the flight in me” explains that the suffering that man has gone through as a result of the fall, sin, and guilt, has only made our love for God and our desire to praise him stronger (Herbert l. 20).

The physical structure of this poem is not only what makes it well-known, but is also important in portraying the theme of the poem. In Easter-Wings, the form of the poem is particularly symbolic: “the wings symbolise man's elevation resulting from his belief in Revelation” (Tsur 3). In understanding the added meaning that the form gives the poem, it is also crucial for the reader to notice the repeated reference “to the divine wings ('imp my wing on Thine') and to the lark, yet another explicit topicalisation of the motif of the wing ('With Thee/ O let me rise/ As larks')” (Tsur 3). Wings are mentioned on several occasions, displaying how man will be elevated by their love of God. Through love and praises we will show God our love for Him from Earth, and in this case it must be much stronger than it would be if we were in Paradise because we are farther from him.

The form of the poem also emphasizes particular lines and words in the poem, which are important when attempting to understand the overall meaning of the poem. Stanza one and three of the poem, which describe man’s weakness and shame, diminish in length with each line. The use of words such as poor, shame, sinne, and thinne show man’s loss of faith and significance. The second and fourth stanzas of the poem, however, get increasingly larger with each line. This demonstrates how our suffering has made us smaller and less worthy, yet our love for God will grow because of it.

Herbert’s poem has a very religious tone, which is evident in the overall meaning of the poem, as well as in the word choice and its physical form. Our love for God becomes easier to express from Earth, after we have fallen from Paradise and have therefore experienced suffering. The physical form of the poem must also be taken into account because it demonstrates the meaning behind the wings and their use in demonstrating the elevation we have gained through our love of God. George Herbert’s “Easter-Wings” is a very more powerful and meaningful poem, elements which are emphasized through its form and themes.

Bibliography

Davidson, Adele. “Vertical Readings of Herbert’s The Temple.” The Times Literary Supplement. (http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25338-1914718,00.html)

Ray, Joan Klingel. “Herbert’s ‘Easter-Wings.’” Explicator. 49 (1991): 140-142.

West, David. “Easter-Wings.” Notes and Queries. 39 237 (1992): 448-52.

Tsur, Reuven. “Picture Poems: Some Cognitive and Aesthetic Principles.” (http://www.tau.ac.il/~tsurxx/poem.htm)