Abstract
Abstract This chapter examines how a Calvinist understanding of the eucharist provides George Herbert with a model for valuing human agency and poetic creativity. Through an extended examination of The Temple, it shows that Herbert understands the eucharist as a repeated sacrifice of thanksgiving, rather than a propitiatory sacrifice, and that he sees poetry as an analogous form of gratitude. It also identifies how the eucharist shapes three key features of Herbert’s poetry: its tendency to return to the same words, images, and themes; its creation of a unique poetic persona; and its careful attention to the aural and visual aspects of poetic language. These features of Herbert’s poetics correspond with three related ways the Protestant eucharist emphasizes the many over the one: its repeatability, its capacity to make God intimately known to each communicant, and its treatment of the elements as supplemental to the presence they signify.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call