Spread Your Wings and Fly

By Alex Luna

George Herberts “The Altar” and “Easter Wings” are two poems that heavily and clearly deal with matters of Christianity. Where they differ slightly is in their exact messages and purposes for these particular pieces. “The Altar” seems to focus on the crucifixion while “Easter Wings” focuses on overcoming sin and hardship. Both utilize imagery techniques to convey their messages, but it is “Easter Wings” that captures the true essence of what Christianity preaches. 

“The Altar” recreates the crucifixion through the poem, especially when looking at the way the poem literally looks similar to a cross. The poem creates an image of a cross and then colors it in with brutal and depressing images. Lines like “Made of a heart and cemented with tears” bring about connotations of Christ on the cross, “made of a heart” meaning filled with nothing but love for humanity, and “cemented with tears” crying over the brutality of the crucifixion. As the poem moves into the next few lines, the poem itself forms an image of the main support of the cross, where Jesus’ body was strung up. The poem reads “Wherefore each part of my hard heart meets in this frame,” again we see images of Jesus suffering on the cross, further cemented by the line “oh let thy blessed sacrifice be mine.” This piece, in particular, focuses solely on the crucifixion and matters of sacrifice, in which Jesus was tortured to death in order to cleanse humanity of its sins. The poem has a more depressing tone, with its violent connotations as well as the somber image of Christ dying for humanity. It makes the reader feel uneasy, and a sense of guilt is also established, feeling responsible for causing such a horrible occurrence. While the Christian message is clear, it also represents the darker side of it. 

“Easter Wings” takes it in a different direction. Unlike “The Altar” it takes the shape of actual wings when looked at horizontally. Immediately this conjures up images of angels, possibly heavenly connotations as well. When taking a look at the actual lines of the poem, it’s clear that the poem discusses one of Christianity’s most fundamental messages: that of forgiving oneself and rising above past mistakes/hardships. The first few lines imply a sense of decay as the form of the poem transcends downwards. The lines of the poem also imply a sense of “falling” by reading “decaying more and more until he became most poor.” Reading this line with the image of the poem literally taking you down with it implies that self-guilt, that hole we all fall into at some point, whether it be depression or another hardship. The tone is definitely bleak, almost hopeless, until the following line immediately rises, as the speaker declares “O let me rise.” We see that slowly the wings begin to form. Much like an actual person, beginning to rise above their hardships. Then the speaker says, or image, says “then shall the fall further the flight in me.” Again, we get these images of a bird rising, as the poem itself gains its wings and rises. It is a metaphor for the human tendency to overcome obstacles, to forgive oneself and start anew. 

While these poems were written many moons ago, they are still culturally relevant. Christianity and most religions have been plagued over the years, mostly due to loads of corruption. A common factor seems to be on the misinterpretations of the messages Christianity intended for. Some so-called believers may preach the use of fear to convert people to Christianity, emphasizing the torture Christ endured and the idea of hell to scare people. “The Altar” is a great poem, but perhaps it may be construed and manipulated in this way, which is why it may not be the best Christian message. “Easter Wings” on the other hand preaches not just a fundamental concept of Christianity, but other religions. That idea of forgiveness of oneself and others, letting go of past mistakes and hardship to rise up and create a better version of oneself. To spread your wings, and fly towards a better state.