Im an indecisive mess 😬

by Jasmine Carrillo

Both poems form a shape through the text. “Easter Wings” forms the shape of wings when it is turned sideways, and “The Altar” is a C ,which im assuming stands for christianity? For me, it’s somewhat difficult to understand the meaning of both poems due to the fact that I’m not very religious. Of course someone with prior knowledge of the Bible will get certain references in the poem or would understand them way better than myself.

From my understanding, the poem “Easter Wings” by George Herbert is about how god created all men without judgement. He created men “in wealth and store,” or in other words, some were poor and some wealthy but he did not care about such things. He also discusses ones sins and punishments. When doing this, it seems like it switches to the sinners point of view and he goes on from they’re showing how sins push someone to be better because they repent. I feel this shows the basic gist of christianity because it talks about the creation of man, their sin and trying to better yourself after.

In “The Altar”, I feel as if Herbert is trying to depict the crucifixion of christ. Line 2 give me an image of Christ himself on the cross and I feel like this is what Herbert is aiming to do. Later in the poem in lines 14-16 I think the speaker is showing the praise towards Christ’s sacrifice and showing how blessed they feel. I feel like this illustrates the Christian society very well as well.

In all honesty, my understanding of both poems is kind of a blur. I want to be 100% sure of their meanings before I come to a decision.

I SURRENDER

Diane Tarabay-Rodriguez 

As a Christian, religious poems that talk about my personal beliefs immediately intrigue me. Don’t get me wrong, I am no expert on Christianity, but I have a clear understanding of the basic principles of my religion. Like most people, I find it difficult to understand many parts of the bible and George Herbert’s “The Altar” and “Easter Wings” made it no easier for me. Just like in many verses of the bible, I found myself pondering about how the words and the shape of the poems connection and what it all meant.

With simply looking at the title of the poem, “The Altar”, I immediately visualized the shape of the altar that was created with all the lines combined together. As I began to read the poem, I began to understand that the altar was not just ANY altar, it was a broken one. I came to the understanding that the poet was referring to himself as an altar. The altar is his body. It contains a heart and it has shed a lot of tears. In line 3, He states “whose parts are as thy hands did frame”. Through that line he is acknowledging himself as a creation of God. In the beginning, he shows that he is well aware of his imperfections. On lines 5 and 6, He states, “A HEART alone is simply a stone if”. Comes to show that a heart without God is nothing at all. He mentions this line on the most narrow part of the poem to visually show how one becomes so small without God. After, he makes the lines more wide and talks about wanting to be redeemed.

The poem, “Easter Wings”, also demonstrated a strong visual that was related to the poem. As I began to read it, I visualized a two pairs of wings. The way the poem went from wide to narrow and wide to narrow, allowed me to see the pair of wings in movement. Even the tone of my voice began to drop as the lines got thinner and it rose up as the lines widened. The poem contained a very strong religious meaning behind it. It talked about how god created man, “in wealth and store”(1), yet man still decides to fall in the hands of sin. Parts of the poem refer back to the beginning of the bible where Adam and Eve are created and given all that they need, yet still decide to go against God’s words. The poem takes a dark turn when it goes from wide to narrow but slowly rises when it reaches the most narrow parts of the poem. This is the poet’s way of showing is that no matter what mistakes people make, God always gives a chance of redemption.

After reading both poems, I felt that “The Alter” offers a more powerful Christian message than the poem, “Easter Wings”. There was a strong personal connection in the poem “The Altar”. I felt a personal connection to it because it talked about a broken person that is accepting God as their creator.

God’s love can only fit One Soldier

By Mitaya La Pierre

George Herbert, a devote christian, wrote the poems “The Alter”, and “Easter Wings”; imagery induced stanzas that requited his love for Christ and the cross. A debate can be made that his work “Easter Wings” defines this love more visually and intensely, then does “The Alter” counter part. I, however, do not agree with this position; I personally believe that The Alter, with it’s imagery and theme, provided a more direct christian experience then Easter Wings ever could.

To begin, in the first 2 lines there is immediate description of what this poem is going to be about;

“A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears,

Made of a heart, and cemented with tears”

Here the speaker is describing the ways of the altar, its creation founded upon heart; emotion. This speaker is a not only a servent to the altar, but an ardent one at that. So devoted to serving the lord, the speaker too in a way is like this alter. A ‘broken’ alter, made of ‘heart’, cemented with ‘tears’; a simile of his poetic devotion to our Lord and saviour. This is not where words of the ‘heart’ stop though. After line 4, the poem itself becomes narrower, like a pillar, and within all of those lines it speaks directly of the heart. (5-13)

“A HEART alone 

is such a stone,

As nothing but

Thy power doth cut.

Wherever each part

Of my hard heart

Meets in this frame,

To praise thy Name:”

As I discussed previously of him being like an alter, his ‘heart’ is like the stone of which the meat of the alter stands. He is personifying this way of worship. This alter is him, and he is the alter, for which only being with God and servicing him brings light into his ‘stone’ like heart. The same way that a statue becomes an alter the moment you start praying at it; is the same way his heart is suspended from gloom to praise the one and only.

In Easter Wings, I obtain none of this emotion. Yes the speaker enumerates “flying”, in the skies with God, to be freed of human sin and within Jesus’s heart. I can hear the pain and discomfort of the speaker admitting that he has not been the best ‘Christian’ (as stated in line’s 12-15, “My tender age in sorrow did begin; and still with sicknesses and shame Thou didst so punish sin, that I became Most thin.”) or even a christian; but that he hopes God will service him in the way that he is now servicing God; with forgiveness. I understand the redemption arc of this poem, which is also comically written in the form of angel wings, I get there is a transition here of guilt to pride over his religion (shall I say, a flip of the WING?!) But for the speaker being someone who is religious, especially monotheistic; I would believe that he would learn self-forgiveness. When I hear about devotion to the Holy ghost, I suspect a total blind forgiveness of one’s past self–and more so an introduction into the blissfully painful love this speaker has for God. What I’m looking for here is just a genuine conversation between the speaker and God; however, in Easter Wings, I feel as if he is ‘begging’ for forgiveness rather than, practicing it. In The Alter, he shows God his love, he recites it perfectly and brings forth his pain to be ignited by the eternal light. I wanted to feel the love, not the regret. 

The Resurrection of Faith

The Christian message is often times shared through poetry and other forms of art; some would even say that the Bible is poetry itself. Two of the most prominent poems that share the Christian message are “The Altar” and “Easter Wings”, both written by George Herbert. Both are great poems that offer a powerful Christian message, but through mirroring the structure of the poem with the content, Herbert is able to convey a more profound message of Christianity in “Easter Wings”. Through the shape of the poem, Herbert is able to share the journey Jesus, as well as human kind. 

In “Easter Wings” the relationship between the content of the poem and the structure of wings is obvious at first glance. The poem is made to replicate the shape of wings, more specifically, angel wings, which creates a tie between the title and the poem itself. The easter wings is a reference to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This relationship is seen throughout the entirety of the poem, and is made most obvious that the movement of the poems shape reflects the actions portrayed in the poem. In the third line of the poem, it is said that the Lord, or Jesus, is “decaying more and more”, referencing his crucifixion. This image of decay is carried over from the content of the poem to the shape of the poem, as the reader can see the way the lines start to shorten, thinning the the look of the poem itself. The opposite effect is also seen in the poem. For example, the expansion of the lines in the first stanza is seen as after the line “O let me rise” (line 7). This expansion of the lines is meant to reflect the resurrection of Jesus. 

“Easter Wings” is about the resurrection of Jesus, but it is also about the true meaning of Christianity. If you replace the presence of Jesus with the presence of anyone who has strayed away from the word of God, you can see a new yet similar story as before. The poem is about celebrating those who have been lost and then found; those who have questioned their beliefs, perhaps, but came back to God and the church. The image of straying is seen in the same line that represents the crucifixion of Jesus, but this time the image of decaying is meant to represent the sins that cause one to wander from the path of God. The image of ones return to God is seen in lines seven and eight, when Herbert writes “O let me rise/ as larks harmoniously”. This line is meant to create a picture of those who strayed from God, returning to him as they sing his praise and are welcomed back. “Easter Wings” shows that just like Jesus, some may fall, but upon their return, the church will honor them and their journey. 

Although “The Altar” shares a strong Christian message, “Easter Wings” creates a more powerful one. This is done by creating a pattern with the poem that matches the content of the poem. The literal image of wings that is created by the poem acts as a map for both Jesus’s journey and the resurfacing of Christian faith in those who stray.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

I Have Not Gone to Church in Years

‘“In creating and exact match between the shape of the poem and its theme, George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” offers a more powerful Christian Message than his other poem, “The Altar”’

 

Why?

 

Hear me out, I know that this is for the sake of class assignments and debate and thinking exercises and whatnot, but why? I read this question, and initially had nothing. I slept on it, woke up, still have nothing. Pondered before class, and I still have nothing. I genuinely wonder what others have to say.

There is an interesting footnote for The Altar that reads, “Its placement suggests that all of the following poems are offered as “sacrifices” on the symbolic altar constituted here”. “The following poems” being the two poems in question: The Altar and Easter Wings. Specifically, for The Altar, my textual evidence for showing “more” praise lies mostly in the footnotes explaining the poem’s references such as on lines 4 and 14. Fittingly, both references (coming from Exodus and Luke respectively) are about stones. The poem is titled The Altar, is in the shape of an altar, and has references to stones in the bible, and stones are great building material for altars. To me, this poem is about strength in the faith of God and pledging love and allegiance to God:

 

That,  if  I  chance  to  hold  my  peace,

These stones to praise thee may not cease.

Oh   let   thy   blessed   SACRIFICE   be   mine,

                 And    sanctify    this    ALTAR    to    be    thine. (ll. 13-16)

 

If the speaker were to hold their peace, they would wish that these stones do not and praise God. Then, the speaker takes ownership over the sacrifice. This sacrifice could be in reference to the constant mentioning of heart, symbolically meaning the speaker’s life, love, and praise. The speaker is willing to sacrifice themselves, which brings me back to the footnote saying that these poems are a sacrifice. The opening of the poem talks of an altar which then leads into, “Made of a heart, and cemented with tears” (l.2). All of this leads me to believe that this altar is the heart of the speaker, or in other words, the speaker is the altar, and the end of the poem is asking God to sanctify this altar. The speaker wants to be free from sin and united forever with Christianity.

 

It is hard to say whether The Altar is any better or worse than Easter Wings. Easter Wings, rightfully so, alludes to flight and ascension with God. The poem opens with the dichotomy of wealthy and poor, gluttonous and abstemious. There is a clear fall from grace seen within the first 5 lines, but then the turn begins. The speaker has fallen but wishes to be risen. Now, I considered the poem being told through the point-of-view of Jesus because the similarities are there, but ultimately I decided to look past that and instead interpret the poem as wishing to follow the steps of Jesus or rather praise how Jesus died and rose again. This is the poem about ascension into Heaven which inherently implies outstanding religious faith. But again, I am torn between looking at this from the point of view of Jesus and then as someone who is a devout follower. I believe the argument could be made for either one, and of course, for academic purposes I would choose a side, but for blog post purposes, I can be conflicted.

 

Conflicted as I am with the initial question all the way at the top of this post. I spent so much time rationalizing an argument for The Altar because on the surface, I believe it to be less obvious of a piece of appraisal for the Christian faith. Easter Wings, being in the shape of two birds flying up, mention birds, flight, falling, rising, and having Easter in the title and referenced in the poem makes much more obvious sense to say it praises Christianity. But I think there is something to be said about both. They try to do different things but have the same goal. So, I can confidently say that I am on the fence with which poem has a much more powerful Christian message. I believe one is much more obvious in its message, but that does not mean that it is necessarily better.

—Joseph Rojas

Doves

Lauren Hamilton

With it’s easier to read message than “The Altar” by George Herbert, it is capable to reach a broader audience of people, “Easter Wings” by George Herbert has the strongest Christian message because it is all about the redemption of sinners with love and use of the divine. I personally do not know much about Christianity but what I do know of the underlying message is to love love and accept one another with open arms and that is exactly what the story of Easter is talking about.

George Herbert was priest of the Church of England who was well read and did oratory work before becoming a priest. He also came to being a priest after the reformation had occured and were trying to encourage those who were more reluctant to join the church (the Puritans and any remaining Pagans or Wiccans). He was reportedly a kind and well caring priest to his parishioners and would have wanted to make the message as clear cut and easy for them to hear and read. By making it easier to read it encouraged the parishioners to continue coming to church on major days of the Christian calender.

“Easter Wings” is about the story of Easter from the view point of a sinner. Lines 1-5 talk of a great man who lost all things even his life, the life and death of Jesus. Then lines 6-9 speak of him rising up bringing the sinner for redemption up with him by singing songs and praise. Line 10 speaks of if the sinners fail again they can be redeemed again but it will be more work for them. The view point becomes more apparent in lines 11-15, they speak of being a sinner from a young age and regardless of their sins they are forgiven with love and acceptance but not punishment. Lines 16-19, are of them asking to join the celebrate the redemption they have received and to only do so if the other will permit it. Line 20 can be taken to say “I may have sinned in the past but it pushes me to be better in the future.”

The lines themselves create a story pattern of bring down then raising up then falling down and raising up once more, almost like watching a bird fly and being able to read the dramatic movement it takes for them to fly. Along with the words themselves bringing us up and down, there is a simple pattern designed into the poem. The design can be seen as either two birds flying next to one another or as one bird mid flight, it all depends on how you focus. In the thought of Easter and Christians symbols, there is only one bird that takes main stage and that is the dove. The dove represents the divine Holy Spirit being present at major events in the bible. This would have helped the Pagans and Wiccans to associate better with the church because in their religion doves were used as sacrifices for either wrong doings or asking for better outcomes from bad situations. In both cases of dove usage, they are used for redemption from sins making those willing to change religion to (in theory anyways) do so with a priest who was understanding.

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within the meaning.

By: Jocelyn Lemus

The creation of poems takes a large space within its true meaning. We must dive in, in order to learn how to swim, it is not just a matter of whether I can just dip my toes into cold water. As reading George Herbert’s poems of “The Altar” and “Easter Wings” my brain had a major debate of which poem demonstrates a more power Christian message. Being able to grab the topic of religion into a master piece of  a poem must have been a challenge for Herbert. Certain topics can become extremely severe and delicate when it can be controversy. I found myself deeply analyzing both poems and coming into conclusion that the two drive Christianity in a different perspective. One takes the religion into a church, while the other one upon the sky. This was extremely important for me because both poems strive a similar, but also different point of views

To begin with, George Herbert’s poem of “The Altar” drives us into a meaningful theme of Christianity from the perspective within an altar. If one focuses extremely closely to how Herbert decided to shape the poem, it is literally the shape of an altar. This talks so much about his imagination and how he created certain details to his poem. An altar is a symbol of a Christian set of table that holds the bread and wine for those who confess. This becomes important because we notice that Herbert begins his poem, “a broken ALTAR”(1). This tiny piece he decided to begin his poem with symbolizes true meaning of his perspective Christianity.  Initially, when we compare the shape of his poem to his first phrase, they seem to give different perspectives. Why is the altar broken inside the poem, but not abstractly? Not only that, but we can also notice how he capitalizes the word “ALTAR” and how the connotation of the word shifts from something soft to something loud. It is as if the poem was shouting at us or as if the religion of Christianity decides to crawl under our skin because it is described as something broke. To continue, another phrase that shows how this poem touches the topic of Christianity was when he mentions, “To praise thy name”(12). This is also about religion because in an altar God is being worshiped and we are being renewed in a religion sense. Herbert’s poem “The Altar” does give a message within the Christian religion.

Furthermore, George Herbert’s poem “Easter Wings” also demonstrates a powerful theme when talking about the Christian religion. First of all, just like his other poem, I found myself questioning the way he decided to shape this piece. As I analyzed its shape after I read the poem, I found myself thinking of either two pairs of wings or two pairs of hourglasses. Herbert begins this poem with a connection that majority of all know about. He begins his poem with the connection from the bible, the piece about Adam and Eve. When he mentions, ” createdst man in wealth and store”(1), this implies how God created them of not actual wealth and not a store but out of nourishment within the kingdom they were offered to stay in. He continues with, “foolishly”(2), which becomes an important term because this explains how the bible describes betrayal within Adam and Eve. The way they were not grateful with what they had, and ended up biting the fruit from the forbidden tree. Herbert continues his poem by elaborating more into detail of the continuation of the tragedy by adding, “with sicknesses and shame. / Thou didst so punish sinne” (12-13). The ideas Herbert keeps implementing into his piece becomes a major part of the Christian religion. This is significant because he uses lots of strategies in his poem in order to guide the connection within its religious theme. One strategy I saw that becomes meaningful was how he mentions, “the flight in me” (10/20) two times and they are in the endings of each stanza. This is important because he really wants the reader to take into consideration that he is implementing a deeper thought with who reads the piece. Whether it is me or him or even you. Therefore, this poem was able to grab the Christian religion and shape it.

So out of both poems, I must say they are both extraordinary in a way where he shapes and connects them from one line to another. However, the one poem that digs deeper into the sense of the Christian religion was “Easter Wings” because in this poem, Herbert was able to make a connection within the pages of the bible. Not only that because he was able to grab those sheets and make it his as he was writing his poem. It takes a big step to include allusions that create a major connection inside the poem. Herbert’s “Easter Wings” was able to grab the biggest story of the bible of Adam and Eve and shape it into the biggest ideas of Christianity. Therefore, I believe that the poem “Easter Wings” sends more of a Christian message.

How can I not?

Vinnie Kim

The argument to say that one poem is better than the other is ridiculous because both poems talk about different things. George Hubert’s poem “Easter Wings” talks about the “joyful pain” in Christianity while “The Alter” talks about the captivating call to worship God.

“Easter Wings” creates the image of God creating man in his own image, “in Wealth and store,” yet man chooses to “decay” and fall into the hands of sin. Then the man cries out, “O let me rise… further the flight in me.” This man cries out asking to be risen up, implying that he is in the depth of sin. The man is then saved and says that his “age in sorrow ” has begun. This is important because it shows that choosing to be a Christian is not an easy thing to do, it is hard and it even says so in the Bible. This next line shows the tender love of God. “And still with sicknesses and shame. Thou didst so punish sinne,” The man is saying even with all his disease and shameful acts, God still chooses to punish sin over him. You can see where the saying hate the sin, love the sinner comes from. He then says that after this process, he is “most thinne.” This creates an oxymoron because he says this was his age of sorrow, yet in this stage he feels his victory; joyful pain. He then goes to even further emphasize this joyful pain, by saying let me mend my wing through God and that painful wound shall advance the flight in me.

“The Alter” creates the imagery of the heart and the captivating love of God. What non-believers don’t understand is that Christianity is a choice, but you are called to make that choice. The choice to name the poem, “The Alter” is very interesting because the alter is where priests/pastors would call up people who feel the calling to come to Christ. The poem depicts a picture of a broken alter, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Hubert goes to say later in the poem that nothing but God can cut/mold/anything to the heart. “No workman’s tool hath touch’d the same. A HEART alone Is such a stone, As nothing but Thy pow’r doth cut.” He then goes to say that God cuts the stone of the heart into pieces that mold into a frame. This frame is the image of the “ideal” man in retrospect to Christianity. When molded into the perfect man, the poem implies that the calling to God is so great, you have no choice but to worship him. “Wherefore each part Of my hard heart Meets in this frame To praise thy name. That if I chance to hold my peace, These stones to praise thee may not cease.” Hubert then goes to show his gratitude to the Lord by “SACRIFICING” his “ALTER” to the lord in order to be sanctified. “Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine, And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine.”

To ask which poem is better was ridiculous because they were both just so different. Even the perspectives in each poem was different. Asking which conveyed a better message is liking asking which is better; anger or fear?

Clean Christians Go to Heaven

Sofia Garcia

George Herbert incorporates art into his poems “Easter Wings” and “The Altar”. With the text, he creates images. “Easter Wings” when it is on its side, it looks like a pair of angel wings. “The Altar” looks like the one we would see at a Catholic church for example.

Both of these poems sounded like prayers first of all. “The Altar” starts with in line one, “A broken ALTAR, Lord” (line 1).The first word in “Easter Wings” is “Lord”. To my experience, one of the first words in a prayer is “Lord”. This already indicates to me that these poems carry a Christian message.

The altar in the poem “The Altar” represents the speaker’s heart that they have prepared for the Lord. It is not a perfect heart according to the speaker but, “thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine”(line 15). As a practicing Catholic I am told at church that we have to prepare our souls for when we go to heaven (as best we can because we are human, and we make mistakes).

In “Easter Wings” all humans are sinners no matter how wealthy they are. Lines five through nine talk about how Easter is a time for redemption of ones sins. Easter is Jesus’s resurrection from the dead which means he is going to save his people from sin alluding to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when the snake tricked Eve into eating the apple and then give some to Adam which is known as the “original sin”. Because it is the time when people redeem their sins it is a time of joy. If one does not have sins one gets to go to heaven (I mean who wouldn’t be excited for that).

I am undecided about which poem offers a more powerful Christian message. Ultimately, both touch upon going to heaven. Going to heaven is the ultimate goal of a Christian. Both poems express the same idea, but I don’t feels like one is better than the other at the moment.

Wings That Fly To Heaven

Arlyne Gonzalez

When one opens themselves to religion, more specifically, Christianity, they envision a tranquil and light presence that encompasses purity and innocence through the symbolism and imagery of creatures such as birds and angels. Although both George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” and “The Altar” both deliver a Christian message, “Easter Wings” performed a more compelling message because the title immediately gave me a vibe of what is associated with Christianity. In other words, it is global knowledge that Easter is an imperative holiday to be celebrated among the Christian community, and wings have always been a symbol for a bird or an angel that symbolizes purity and freedom. We know “Easter Wings” is set during Easter because, in line 9, the speaker asks to sing “this day” Christ’s victory over death. On lines 1-2, it is obvious that Herbert is providing imagery to describe Adam’s creation, he utilizes the words “wealth” and “store”, capturing the richness of Eden’s life with this metaphor of material security. The actual garden was similar to a monopoly, not in terms of actual money, but it was rich in trees filled with fruit, lakes of shining waters, and green grass, therefore, actual heaven. Regarding the shape of the poem, it immediately reminded me of how song lyrics are formatted, in this case, it is how lyrics of Christian worship is inscribed. Not only do wings give the poem its physical shape, but they also contribute to Herbert’s central imagery of remorse. Christ’s resurrection on Easter signifies that he rises from the dead. By describing how he will rise with Christ, Herbert compares himself to birds that use wings to fly into heaven.

On lines 7-9, with a lark’s simile, Herbert provides a literal elaboration to his speaker’s rise and links his worship with the beauty of birdsong. The speaker “sings” the news of Christ’s Easter resurrection as “harmoniously” as any lark. On lines 19-20, Herbert communicates an odd metaphor to describe his relationship with God. When he is too ill or sinful to recover on his lonesome, God will give him his helping hand, in this case, a helping wing. Continuing on lines 19-20, the speaker is indeed too fragile to act on his own. He intends to “combine” with God on Easter Sunday, but he is too ill to rise without help. Utilizing a metaphor, Herbert emphasizes that, according to him, only God is the all-powerful to heal all and give all spiritual strength.