Forgive Me Father for I Have Sinned

 Exploring the themes of Temptation and Forgiveness Hafez writes about how he’s “Foredoomed to drink and foreordained forgiven”, which means he will be doomed to drink and will be forgiven anyway for it. By using alliteration in these lines, he shows how easy it is to get away with sinning. He also parallels ‘Fore’ in saying he’s rejecting responsibility.  He has so much love for drinking, which is a sin in the Islamic religion, so this represents the rejection of Islamic spirituality because it is not prohibited. Even though Haifez knows that there will always be temptations nearby he will choose them over being a saint and following the rules of Islamic religion. The reason is that he will be forgiven if he just pleads for it.

 Hafez also uses similes in a satirical way to signify that the woman in his poem is a temptation or the Iblis (devil) who will lead him down the bad path. For example, in “Warm as a dewy rose” this line compares the woman to a wet flower which is not warm, it’s a satirical way to express how she appears pleasing yet, she isn’t. By using the imagery of a woman Hafez shows the rejection he shows to Islamic spirituality because he doesn’t care what she’s there for he’ll take whatever she has. Since at the end of it all, he can just apologize like everyone else and be okay. 

 The poem Ode 44 by Hafez is a great interpretation of Adam and Eve of the temptation of the Apple. How the two showed great love for their God but still fell victim to the Tree of Wisdom and the snake guarding it. Haifez is woken by the woman calling him to sip on wine which is like the snake guiding Eve to take a bite of apple which she does. She bares the consequences and gets kicked out yet, in this poem, Haifez doesn’t care about the consequences and takes the sip and knows he isn’t the only man to have drunk before and will be forgiven just like the rest. 

Kelly Flores

The Redemption of Paradise

Though both poems offer shaped verses, a wealth of poetic elements, and a distinct theme of Christianity, I believe that George Herbert’s Easter Wings offers a more powerful Christian message than his other poem, The Altar. While the latter draws an image of an altar built of metaphorical hearts, the prior takes readers back to the creation of mankind. In line 1, the author states that the Lord “createdst man in wealth and store” and this phrase seems to refer to the story of Adam and Eve, the first humans. Adam and Eve were allowed to live life in the Garden of Eden, a beautiful, perfect paradise created by God for mankind, but were expelled when they ate the forbidden fruit. By incorporating this story of Adam and Eve, Herbert paints a more complete image of God, as well as the Garden of Eden.

In the second half of the first stanza, the speaker seeks to redeem himself from Adam’s mistake and expresses his wishes to “rise” with the Lord, just as Jesus had risen from his grave on Easter day. This desire for redemption is further highlighted by the alliteration used by the author in line 10 (fall further the flight) as well as the rhyming “shall the fall”. In addition to the fact that the two stanzas have been fashioned into the shape of two wings, it is evident these wings symbolize redemption in this poem. Because the speaker claims that mankind has “fallen” as a result of Adam’s sin, it makes sense that the author needs wings to fly back up. This is further evident in the last two lines, where the speaker displays his desire to “imp” or attach his own wings to Jesus’s, as he rises on Easter day. It is also important to consider the two stanzas comparatively. Each stanza starts off with a negative, almost bleak tone but by the end of each stanza, the tone becomes optimistic and full of plea. Because both stanza’s starts with the result of Adam’s sins, they give the effect of “rising”, consistent with this idea of resurrection. This plea, as well as the speaker’s changing tone, paint a clear image of the resurrection of Christ and allow readers to perceive the speaker’s deep desire for both salvation and redemption. Because to me, Christianity is a religion of repenting sins, and redemption, I believe that the ideas and imagery present in Herbert’s Easter Wings provides a more powerful Christian message than his other poem, The Altar.