Vox Populi
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George Herbert: Love (III)
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.
~~~
George Herbert (1593-1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as one of the foremost British devotional lyricists. More than ninety of Herbert’s poems have been set for singing over the centuries, some of them multiple times. Herbert was born in Wales into a musical family and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. In his mid-thirties, he took holy orders in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Bemerton just outside Salisbury. He was noted for unfailing care for his parishioners, bringing the sacraments to them when they were ill and providing food and clothing for those in need. Henry Vaughan called him “a most glorious saint and seer” and another friend described Herbert as a “soul composed of harmonies”. Herbert died of consumption at age 39. (bio adapted from Wikipedia)
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I love the pun who made the eyes but I? by which Herbert inserts a wink into the middle of this host-guest love dialogue.
An apt poem to include for us Vox readers on Easter. Thanks for it; 400 years after it was born it still has a place at our poetic table. And it’s still edible.
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edible poetry…. hmmm. You may have discovered a niche in the market.
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How many calories could a sonnet
have, if a sonnet could have calories?
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How much luck could a buck-buck buck if a buck-buck could have luck?
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I struggled a bit with this one, but found this excellent overview of the poem at English Studies: https://english-studies.net/love-iii-by-george-herbert-a-critical-analysis-2/
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Thanks for the link. I just skimmed the analysis, and will spend time with it later. It looks thorough and thoughtful.
The author helps cut through the poetic enigmas to the metaphysical theology at the heart of Love (III).
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Yes, Herbert’s poems have entered our cultural consciousness primarily as hymns we’ve heard in protestant church services. They are beautiful calls to the spirit.
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Beautiful. Love is everything.
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Yes
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Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
“Who made the eyes but I?”
That’ll be my leitmotiv today as I don’t let go of love‘s hand!
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Love, which I believe is the same thing as acceptance, is available whenever we open ourselves to it.
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I love this poem. Happy Easter.
Professor of English, Director of the Environmental Studies Minor
University of Mississippi
Please check out my website: annfisherwirth.com
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Thanks, Ann. I love the poem as well. Happy Easter.
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