Poetry Analysis - "Easter Wings" by George Herbert

Poem:

Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store, 

      Though foolishly he lost the same, 

            Decaying more and more, 

                  Till he became 

                        Most poore: 

                        With thee 

                  O let me rise 

            As larks, harmoniously, 

      And sing this day thy victories: 

Then shall the fall further the flight in me. 

My tender age in sorrow did beginne 

      And still with sicknesses and shame. 

            Thou didst so punish sinne, 

                  That I became 

                        Most thinne. 

                        With thee 

                  Let me combine, 

            And feel thy victorie: 

         For, if I imp my wing on thine, 

Affliction shall advance the flight in me. 

I uncovered this poem on the "recommended/required poem" list on Mr. Tso's Poetry Unit document. The name of this work called up images of angels and Easter bunnies, which compelled me to dive deeper into this work to see if it really did contain my first impressions. To nobody's surprise, it did not contain angels or Easter bunnies, but it did contain a deep message that drew me in as I read it, compelling me to feature this piece of writing on my poetry blog.

The poem tells of God, who is said to have created humans, and how his intentions for creating humans have all been quashed thanks to the man's greed. But this poem also speaks of redemption and humanity rising up to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of God himself. These two ideas are presented in a very eye-catching, significant manner, found in the form of the shape the poem is presented in. Both stanzas are displayed in a hourglass sort of shape, and this is symbolic to how the poet sees that humans have fallen from grace and wishes to redeem the human race and restore them to honour in God's eyes. The top half can be interpreted as a descending sort of triangle pointed downwards, or any other image with the same kind of idea. The top half of the stanzas speaks of humans and how they have fallen from their noble creator's wishes, justifying the "falling" idea featured there. The bottom half of the stanzas seem to be directed at God himself, stating the poet's wishes to restore humans to their rightful place under God's gaze.

I was attracted to this poem mainly for its unique presentation of its concepts, and also for the ideas that powered this poet to compose this work. I felt that the downwards and upwards motion found in the writing was very enjoyable and interesting to see, and I can also understand this poet's desires to bring harmony and peace to humans in order to restore the connection he believed people shared with God.