LOVE (III)
George Herbert [1593-1633]
Relevant Background
• George Herbert was born in Wales. His family was wealthy.
• Herbert was educated in London and Cambridge
• In his first two poems in 1610, Herbert argued that the love of God is a proper subject for poetry.
• Herbert became a clergyman in the Church of England in 1630.
• The style of Herbert's poems contains precise language. He uses imagery in a clever way.
• In some of Herbert’s poetry a character talks to another character. In ‘Love’, Herbert chats to God.
• His poems contain arguments about religion.
• The bible influenced how and what Herbert wrote.


Summary
In this poem, George Herbert expresses a deep love of God. He wants to meet God. But he is too shy to do so. Why? He feels he is very sinful. He feels he has no right to God’s love because of his sins. The poem reads like a dialogue or conversation. The dialogue is between the host of a feast and a guest. In the poem the guest speaks directly to God. The guest also describes the situation. The host stands for God. The guest stands for Herbert.

In this poem of three stanzas, Herbert imagines God has invited him to a feast.
The feast stands for a communion service in a church. Herbert enters into a dialogue with God about attending the feast or communion. Herbert argues with God that he doesn’t deserve to attend the feast. God argues back gently. God tries to persuade the shy guest to enter the feast.

1. First stanza Herbert, or the guest, states that God makes him welcome. God is called ‘Love’ in the poem. But the guest’s shy soul backs away. Herbert, the guest, feels embarrassed because he is human. The guest feels guilty of original sin in the first stanza. Christians like Herbert believe this sin is in a person’s soul since birth.
2. Second stanza, the guest answers by saying what he lacks. He doesn’t deserve to be at the feast or communion. He feels that he has not been charitable enough in his life to dine with God or the host. The guest declares he is not even worthy to look at the host, God. In an encouraging gesture, God takes the guest’s hand and reminds the guest that he made the eyes. The logical conclusion to that remark is that the humble guest, Herbert, can surely look at God with the eyes that God gave him.
3. Third stanza, the guest argues back that he had ruined his God-given eyes through sin. He repeats his sense of shame and his wish to walk away from God’s feast. He thinks he deserves to go to hell: The ‘where’ of the quote is hell. God then states that he has taken the blame for sin. This is a reference to the story of Jesus dying on a cross. He offers to come in to the mansion where the feast is on. He is still not confident though and wants to join the feast only as a servant: Finally, the host, God, speaks forcefully and commands the guest to sit down and eat. The guest obeys.


Themes
1. The poet shows how he is troubled in spirit because he feels sinful: ‘my soul drew back, guilty of dust and sin’.
2. Herbert changes from fear of God’s punishment to acceptance of God’s forgiveness: ‘my soul drew back… So I did sit and eat.’
3. God’s love proved to be stronger than Herbert’s feelings of guilt.
4. The poet explores the complex relationship between a remorseful [sorry] sinner and a forgiving God: ‘I cannot look on thee. Love took my hand and smiling did reply, Who made the eyes but I?’
5. Herbert is a religious man but he is not confident about getting to heaven when he dies. He thinks he deserves to go to hell: ‘let my shame go where it doth deserve’.
6. The poet is reminded of the sweet and forgiving nature of God: ‘And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?’

Tones
1. Sometimes the tone is mild and gentle: ‘I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear’.
2. Sometimes the tone is guilty: ‘I cannot look on thee’.
3. Sometimes the tone is self-hating: ‘let my shame go where it doth deserve’.
4. Sometimes there is a tone of fearful respect: ‘My dear, then I will serve’.
5. Sometimes the tone is firm and forceful: ‘Love said, You shall be he’.
6. Sometimes the tone is submissive: ‘So I did sit and eat’.
7. At all times the tone is dignified: ‘Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back’.
8. Overall, Herbert’s tone changes from fear to acceptance of God’s forgiveness.


Imagery
The overall image is of a feast where a host and a shy guest chat. The host is God and the guest is the poet. Herbert is a religious man who faces a religious crisis. On one level, the image of the guest chatting to a host shows Herbert doesn’t feel holy enough to receive communion. On a deeper level, the image of host and guest means Herbert is not confident about getting to heaven when he dies. Herbert has used the idea of a feast at a mansion to show the reader how his soul is afraid of God.

Sound effects
Alliteration [the repetition of first letters]:
‘bore the blame’. The ‘b’ sound here shows alliteration. This alliteration emphasizes the way God suffered to save Herbert and others.

Rhyming
there is a regular rhyming pattern. In each stanza there are six lines. The first and third lines rhyme, like ‘shame’ and ‘blame’ in the third stanza. The second and fourth lines rhyme, like ‘deserve’ and ‘serve’ in the third stanza. The last two lines of each stanza rhyme, like ‘meat’ and ‘eat’, in lines five and six of the third stanza.
The following letter sequence shows this rhyme scheme: ababcc.






LOVE (III)
By George Herbert

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.