Essay/Term paper: Easter wings

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Cliff Notes

The poem "Easter Wings" by George Herbert is a poem full

of deep imagery not only in its words but also in the visual

structure of the stanzas. In Herbert"s poem why does he use

a shape poem? Because he wanted this poem to have many

different levels and meanings. Herbert also used huge

amounts of mental imagery so that the reader can find new

truths and meanings each time he or she reads it. The poem

tells of the poets desire to fly with Christ as a result of Jesus'

sacrifice, death and resurrection. The argument as to the

proper presentation of this poem is easily explained with the

help of the poet's address to the "Lord" in the opening line of

the first page in the original text. Because this poem is

actually a work within a work with many hidden meanings

and suggestions. To fully understand it all, one must examine

the poem as a whole in greater detail. The poet is the

obvious speaker in the poem due to the common use of "I"

and "me" through out the poem. The audience is also

revealed in the first line of the 1634 edition of the poem with

the use of the word "Lord"; meaning the Christian Savior,

Jesus Christ who rose from the dead. But there is question

as to where the poem truly begins. This is due to the splitting

of the poem onto two separate pages, and then turned ninety

degrees so it must be read sideways. This is done on

purpose to invoke the vision of wings on both pages. This

fact must be considered when evaluating where it begins and

whether it is in fact two poems instead of one larger one.

"Lord, who createth man in wealth and store" is the

beginning of this poem, helping to immediately establish the

audience in the first word. As well, this fact help to reveal

that this poem is also a prayer of Herbert"s. The appropriate

layout of the poem is still the "winged" look necessary for the

full impact of the imagery. It is the imagery in this poem that

deserves special notice as it gives a much deeper

understanding of what Herbert is saying. The first stanza

shows the fall of man from the "wealth" that is in God's

holiness into the "decaying" life of a sinful nature:



"Lord, who createst man in wealth and store,

Though foolishly he lost the same,

Decaying more and more

Till he became

Most poor:"



As the stanza's lines "decays" in length, the imagery goes

from good to bleak finally ending with the eventual poorness

of mankind. In the first line where it shows how man was

born into abundance with full potential. Yet somehow

managed to abuse this potential in habitual sin and so abuse

the gift that God had bestowed upon us. As one reads the

first stanza, one feels it dwindle and wither away into

nothingness; this verse does, indeed, decrease both in

emotion and context. At first reading this poem you may not

see the complex correlation between the shape and the

actual meaning of the poem. Herbert intended this in his

poem probably to attach a reader to his poem to find the

true meaning as to why this poem was in this shape and has

lines large in size and then they decline. But then the emotion

in the poem picks up steam again in the next stanza and

gains the size and exact structure the first stanza but in

opposite order, from small to large. The second stanza of

the poem is turning in emotion and finishing with the poet

taking "flight" and completing the second wing:



"With thee

O let me rise

As larks, harmoniously,

And sing this day thy victories:

Then shall the fall further the flight in me."



This stanza is rich in imagery. It seems like this stanza "beats

its wing" against the decline of the first stanza, showing how

the "fall" of man "furthered the flight" in Herbert as it paved

the way for the crucifixion of Jesus. It was this action which

redeemed man so they could have fellowship with God

again. While in the first stanza you see Herbert using he and

the word man, where as in the second stanza the poem

becomes more personal to Herbert when he uses me. This

part of the poem could be meant as the personal prayer to

god thanking him for the death of his son and our salvation .

Also of note is the use of "larks, harmoniously" to give a

beautiful, resonate feel to the poem; opposite to that of

words like "decaying" and "most poor" used in the first

stanza. The first three lines of the second stanza, "With thee/

O let me rise/ As larks, harmoniously" tells us Herbert wants

to be with Jesus in the air during the resurrection. the word

harmoniously suggests there is more than one voice singing.

Since harmonies are known to work in three's, this would

support the Christian view of the Trinity, saying that Herbert

would like to rise "as larks"; the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit. The second page of the poem is very much the

same as the first. Some would suggest that it is a separate

poem all together, but when noticing that the voice and

audience carry over from the first page it is easier to

understand that the poem is just continuing. As the first

stanza spoke of the "fall" of man into sin, the third stanza

becomes more personal to the poet as the turn was made

back in the overall attitude in the second stanza:



"My tender age in sorrow did beginne:

And still with sicknesses and shame

Though didst so punish sinne,

That I became

Most thinne."



Once again, this stanza decreases every line like that of the

first. The first line tells of Herbert's sorrowful beginning and

the continues with giving the reader the understanding that

Herbert was not free of the punishment of sin as he became

"most thinne". It is this ending that gives the reader the sense

of a partial end; a loss of purity. Herbert illustrates this

depletion in human character visually. Ideally, our virtues and

wisdom should grow with age; Herbert is somber in

exclaiming that this is not necessarily the case. With the

passage of time, the poet expresses that his only gain was

that of guilt and compounded sin. To witness sin, perchance,

is a sin in itself, thereby making it impossible to live a life of

isolated purity. again the poet picks up from where he left off

and begins the next stanza with words of rejuvenation.

However, this stanza adds an element of connection:



With thee

Let me combine,

And feel this day thy victorie;

For, if I imp my wing on thine,

Affliction shall advance the flight in me."



Again, Herbert turns to his Lord so he can be a part of the

victory. This time though, Herbert wants to "combine" with

Jesus, to be grafted on His wing. This, unlike the third

stanza, moves Herbert even closer to Jesus. This would

suggest he doesn't want to be only "with" Jesus but grafted

"onto" Jesus, thus a much closer relationship would result

between the two. One will notice that the first and third

stanzas seem to resist or go against that of the second and

fourth stanzas. I think Herbert did this appropriately to show

how the course of man's action (and not excluding Herbert

himself), led to the affliction and fall of man. It is this affliction

and fall which furthers Herbert's flight as it is the reason why

Jesus suffered, died and resurrected; to free man of the

chains of sin and death. This is where the resistance is seen.

It is difficult for one to see how negatives such as "affliction"

and "fall" could lead to glory but it is this resistance, much

like that of a wing beating against the resistance of gravity

and air, that furthers not only the flight of the poet but also

that of mankind. In other words, without man's falling into sin

there would have been no reason for Jesus to have suffered

and died on the cross. After careful examination of Herbert's

poem, one can see the winged imagery throughout, and

understand why Herbert used such shape and imagery.

Herbert wanted to show people of his time and from then on

many truths in one poem. Not only does the shape and

imagery have a great effect on the reader, but the emotional

swings and shifting play many "tricks" on the reader as we

go through Herbert"s poem. Also Herbert's original

presentation is most unusual and confronts the reader with

an awkward dilemma. In order to access the words of his

poem the book must be turned ninety degrees. This turning

of the book could be Herbert's way of changing our point of

view. If God's resurrection truly changed the world, as

Herbert believed, then he wanted even our reading habits to

reflect that difference. Furthermore, this physical act of

turning requires a decision. Since, biblically speaking, God

does not enter unless invited, our act of turning the book

reflects our freedom of choice and God's response is

initiated. that how man's decline because of sin was defeated

by the actions of the cross. So the point of Herbert"s work

"Easter Wings" May not actually be obtainable just with one

reading, or for that case many readings. But Herbert did

show us that using shape and imagery throughout his poem

that many different meanings and points can be made within

one poem. He also helped us to understand what he viewed

as right and wrong, he used imagery throughout his poem to

give us a sense into his life and his value system. In doing so

he gave the readers of his poems a chance to find all of the

truths and meanings in his poem. Lastly in Herbert"s poem

he wants us to be grateful of the gift that God has given to

us, by allowing his only son to die for the salvation of our

sins to make us washed clean with grace, it is this action

which allows all of mankind, and not just Herbert, to be

grafted into Jesus' wing to "further the flight" in us all.