![]() ![]() His poem speaks about the internal emotions he has with God. Oh let thy sacrifice be mine, and sanctify this altar to be thine” (14-16). Herbert writes: “That, if I chance to hold my peace, these stones to praise thee may not cease. We know this because he uses the first person narrative in lines 14-16. Here, Herbert is building a sacrifice that is pleasing before God-an altar made of broken material, but the brokenness is from the soul, and the altar and offerings are of himself. The altar Herbert is making to God in this poem is also made of “broken” material, not actually out of stone, but it is “Made of a heart, and cemented with tears”(2). ![]() He is using the broken altar as a metaphor for the heart and how one should sacrifice and offer himself to the lord. This here is an example of the metaphysical conceit. This very quote gives the reference to building a relationship with God and it is given away in the poem that the altar is actually the human heart. He states “… Made of heart, and cemented with tears/As the hand thy framed No workman’s tool hath touched the same”(1-5). In Lines 1-4, Herbert announces in his poem his intention to build an altar to the Lord. The poems structure is in an AABB rhyme scheme and has many metaphors. In The Temple, the opening poem is titled The Altar and the very shape of the poem suggests an altar of worship. Architectural imagery takes place in a number of Herbert’s poetry. We see the use of these rhyme schemes in The Altar and Easter Wings. ![]()
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