I.
Introduction
A.
Have you ever thought your life was bad and there was nothing that could change
that? But you want to make it so much better to live for?
B.
A poem such as Easter wings tells how a man who had everything falls to have
nothing but he finds God and rises again.
C.
The poet has had experience with this obstacle in our lives and he wrote a poem to
help people who fall but cant get back up, and to give them hope.
D.
George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” shows Herbert’s personal experience with
religious life which was important in the Jacobean Era.
II.
Poem analysis- paraphrase
A.
Stanza one
1.
“Lord who createdst man in wealth and store”- describes how lord created
us to be wealthy in his own abundance, makes wealth himself.
2.
“Though foolishly he lost the same”- lord gives is all this wealth and we
lose it all like a fool.
3.
“Decaying more and more”,- losing everything more and more.
4.
“Till he became”- until he became
5.
“Most poor:”- the poorest you could be
6.
“With thee”- with the God/ lord
7.
“O let me rise”- help me succeed from poor help me to better myself
8.
“As larks, harmoniously,”- birds singing/ flying in harmony
9.
“And sing this day thy victories”- Happy this day because thinking about
everything that is going good for him
10.
“Then shall the fall further the flight in me.”- Birds influence him to keep
going during the fall and keeps his head up.
B.
Stanza two
1.
“My tender age in sorrow did begin”- he is getting old so he is becoming
more sad
2.
“And still with sickness and shame”- he is sick about the way he lived his
life he is ashamed.
3.
“Thou didst so punish me,”- lord did not punish him, man brought sin to
them self
4.
“That I became”- he became
5.
“Most thin”- not on good terms with God
6.
“With thee”- with God
7.
“Let me combine,” - let me go with God and be one
8.
“And feel this day thy victory:”- make this day my happy day
9.
“For, if I imp my wing on thine”- if I put my weak self upon you
10.
“Affliction shall advance the flight in me”,- his pain will kill him
Poem analysis- structure
A.
Stanza form
1.
Each stanza is formed by first line 10 syllables second line 8 syllables
third line 6 syllables fourth line 4 syllables fifth line 2 syllables sixth line 2
syllables seventh line 4 syllables eighth line 6 syllables ninth line 8
syllables and tenth line 10 syllables.
III.
“Each Stanza represents a different relational aspect of man to
God.”(helium.com)
a.
First is fall of man
b.
Second mans redemption through Christ
B.
Rhythm
1.
The number of feet gives the poem a flow that feels like it is contracting
like opening and closing of wings
C.
Rhyme
1.
The rhyme scheme is known as ABABACDCDC. This means that line 1
rhymes with lines 3 and 5(a) line 2 rhymes with line 4(b) line 6 rhymes
with lines 8 and 10(c) and line 7 rhymes with line 9(d)
D.
Sound devices
1.
Alliteration
a.
In the closing of stanza one it says”fall” and “ then shall the fall
further the flight in me” this says that fall is necessary the further
the flight in him.
b.
Closing of stanza two it says “For if I imp my wing on thine/
Affliction shall advance the flight in me”
2.
Assonance
a.
Used for example “more and more” and “ most poor”
Poetry analysis- metaphorical meanings
A.
The meaning of this poem is to rise up and be strong for example in line 19-20 it
says “for if I imp my wing on thine, affliction shall advance the flight in me.”this
means that if the man puts all his trust into the lord, the lord will take care of him
like a hurt bird.
B.
Another example is “ then shall the fall further the flight in me” this means that he
is already poor so this fall with help him in the end and he will recover from this
obstacle in life.
C.
Bryan Aubrey says that Easter Wings “contains a simile in which human spiritual
freedom is compared to the lark singing in the morning” I believe he is correct
because our spiritual freedom is our decision we do not have to believe and larks
also have a choice they do not have to sing in the morning the can just be quiet.
Believing in the spiritual freedom is what rises you up and helps you to be content
with life no matter what position your in.
Poem analysis: connects life and time period
A.
“In 1626 he became a deacon in Lincoln Cathedral, and four years later he was
ordained as a priest.” George Herbert’s life is connected to the poem not because
he recalls a fall or an obstacle in his life and called for the lord but because he be
came a priest and realized there are many falls that we do not see as an obstacle,
like sin and others things that lead us away from God.
B.
“In the Jacobean Era religion was an important factor to everyone’s life” in the
Jacobean era there were many priest and everyone was to go to church ordered by
the king. Religion was such a huge factor that when king James ordered ot be
divorced from his wife because she could not produce a make heir the pope said
no to him. Because marriage is sacred and divorce is sin.
Religious life in the Jacobean Era was important to everyone especially George Herbert,
2.
IV.
V.
VI.
who showed his faith through his poems.
A.
All of George Herbert’s poems combine to show and tell of his religious
experience, the time period shows how it was an important aspect of all the
citizens lives and how the falling of man was common to everyone but the rising
of man was only granted to those who truly believed.
B.
Easter Wings is a poem showing how one person who has nothing can rise to
have eternal happiness.
C.
Easter Wings is not just a poem to read and say oh that was a good poem. It is a
poem to help you when you fall to look behind you and say I don’t want to fall
again I want to be risen forever I want to always be happy and make a life worth
living for not a life to regret.