rest in the bottom lay
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The Pulley By George Herbert
By Nkem Egenuka on Fri, 25/11/2016 - 10:53
The Pulley By George Herbert
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
“Let us,” said he, “pour on him all we can.
Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie,
Contract into a span.”
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottom lay.
“For if I should,” said he,
“Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;
So both should losers be.
“Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness;
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.”
The poem that reveals that when God created man, he created him with lots of blessings like strength, beauty, wisdom, honour, pleasure but then, He placed man under a contract that will put him and his possessions to an end at certain period of time:
The first stanza describes how God made man and blessed him with worldly riches: “When God at first made man, Having a glass of blessings standing by”. The stanza also portrays the concept of Trinity as seen in the Biblical creation story in Genesis: “Let us, said he pour on him all we can” (Note the use of the phrase “Let us”).
In the second stanza, God actually poured his blessings of strength, beauty, wisdom, honour and pleasure on man but withheld one important blessing- The Gift of Rest: “Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure, Rest in the bottom lay”.
In the third stanza, God gave his reason for withholding the gift of rest from man. He withdrew this blessing because he felt giving man the gift of rest would make him conceited or excessively proud and man may not worship him: “He would adore my gifts instead of me, And rest in nature, not the God of Nature”.
You are here
The Pulley By George Herbert
By Nkem Egenuka on Fri, 25/11/2016 - 10:53
The Pulley By George Herbert
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
“Let us,” said he, “pour on him all we can.
Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie,
Contract into a span.”
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottom lay.
“For if I should,” said he,
“Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;
So both should losers be.
“Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness;
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.”
Structure of the Poem
The poem does not hold a specific rhythm. It has 4 stanzas of the poem, the first and the last lines of each stanza are of equal trimeter but the second, third, and fourth are not clearly equal in each stanza.
The poem “The Pulley” by George Herbert has a to total of 20 lines, each line with end rhyme pattern of ABABA, CDCDC. The first stanza is about the reason God endowed man during creation, the second stanza showed all the endowments, the third stanza is about the reason God gave man a companion, the last stanza is about how all the blessings and possessions given will lead man back to God’s bosom.
Analysis of the Poem
The poem that reveals that when God created man, he created him with lots of blessings like strength, beauty, wisdom, honour, pleasure but then, He placed man under a contract that will put him and his possessions to an end at certain period of time:
The first stanza describes how God made man and blessed him with worldly riches: “When God at first made man, Having a glass of blessings standing by”. The stanza also portrays the concept of Trinity as seen in the Biblical creation story in Genesis: “Let us, said he pour on him all we can” (Note the use of the phrase “Let us”).
In the second stanza, God actually poured his blessings of strength, beauty, wisdom, honour and pleasure on man but withheld one important blessing- The Gift of Rest: “Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure, Rest in the bottom lay”.
In the third stanza, God gave his reason for withholding the gift of rest from man. He withdrew this blessing because he felt giving man the gift of rest would make him conceited or excessively proud and man may not worship him: “He would adore my gifts instead of me, And rest in nature, not the God of Nature”.
In the fourth stanza, man is thrown into perpetual restlessness so that he can always remember his creator and turn back to him, whether as a result of goodness or weariness. “Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness may toss him to my breast” .