Morgan Gagnon ENGL 3109 Dr.

Bell 11 Feb 2013

Close Reading: George Herbert Easter Wings George Herberts Easter Wings is a perfect example of complementary form and content. The theme of mankinds redemption through the grace of God is quite common to Christian literature and Herbert relies heavily on the Adam and Eve story of the Fall of Man and images of Christs resurrection. What makes the poem stand out is the appearance of the verse on the page which resembles a pair of wings. However, this is no superfluous trick and the visual of the wings ties nicely into Herberts images of birds and flight, which in turn act as a metaphor for mans hope of salvation from a place of spiritual impoverishment. This rise and fall motif recurs in the thematic development of each stanza with the length of the line corresponding to the measure of hope. With Easter Wings form and content work in tandem to produce a work able to derive profound power from its very unity. The wing shape of the written poem gives an immediate visual symbol of the theme of ascendance. Before one even begins to read the body of the poem, the combination of the title and the shape on the page indicate that themes associate with the wing symbol, such as ascendance, freedom, or resurrection in allusion to the phoenix will be important to the text. The

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content of the poem confirms this impression with the Christian theme of the fall from grace and redemption through God. Each stanza, or wing, functions as stage in this fall/rise narrative. The first stanza speaks of mans decay and hope that the fall [will] further the flight in me. (10) The speaker acknowledges that he inherits the debt of Adam and is fallen, yet he sees this fall in an optimistic light because it allows the possibility of redemption(364), as the footnote indicates. The second stanza continues the focus on sicknesses and shame (12) although the final two lines provide the expected redemptive resolution with another avian metaphor. The speaker takes on the role of the bird with the broken wing and he casts God as the supplier of feathers which will advance the flight in me. (20) In these final two lines in particular, Herbert is able to connect the wing visual and the wing metaphor to the theme of redemption. Within each stanza there is similar pattern of rise and fall both in terms of complementary form and content. The first line in the first stanza indicates the initial promise of man, his wealth and store (1), which by the next line is lost (2), and by the next line man is decaying. (3) This deterioration is not just of man, but of the line lengths of the poem. Each succeeding line loses syllable, which is perhaps most apparent on the visual level. The lines themselves diminish on the page until two syllable lines Most poor (5) and with thee. (6) The first of these lines represents mans rock bottom, his utmost poverty, while the equally short following line points to hope in Gods presence. As O let me rise (7) follows with thee(6), the man and the poem both rise as the line length increases and mans prospects increase. The wings theme reappears with the reference to larks (8) to coincide with this spiritual ascendance. Since this is only the first stanza the redemption is not complete however the final line, now the same length as the opening line, refers to mans initial potential with the promise of a furthered flight. The second stanza delivers on this promise, though the first line is still within

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this fallen place of sorrow. (11) The line shortening technique reappears with the two syllable low point, this time Most thin (15) and the corresponding promise of God companionship in With thee. (16) The conclusion of the poem echoes the first stanza final line with the reference to a renewed flight, although this time there is the guarantee that the flight shall advance. (20) The collaboration of all of these elements creates unity within the work and the whole becomes more powerful than its individual parts could be in isolation. This is appropriate for a poem which praises the union of man and God and demonstrates how the power of one element can enrich the other. George Herberts foregrounding of this unity with his visual trick surpasses cleverness and attains Christian profundity.

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Work Cited Herbert, George. "Easter Wings." The Broadview Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Verse & Prose. Ed. Alan Rudrum, Joseph Black & Holly Faith Nelson. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2004. 364. Print.