Love Bade Me Welcome by George Herbert
Questions and Answers
1. In the first stanza, what or who is the โLoveโ to which Herbert refers? How do you know?
The โLoveโ that Herbert refers to is actually the Lord. We know this because shortly after, in the third stanza, Herbert addresses the love he has been speaking to as Lord.
2. What is the term for renaming the subject in a poem, for example, calling the Lord โquick-eyed Loveโ in the first stanza?
The term is an epithet.
3. Why is the speaker hesitant to accept the Lordโs invitation to sit with him? Find an example from each stanza.
In the first stanza, he is hesitant because he is โGuilty of dust and sin.โ In the second, he calls himself โunkind, [and] ungrateful.โ Third, he admits his eyes have been โmarredโ by sin.
4. Why does the Lord still invite the speaker to sit with him?
The Lord reminds the speaker of Christโs sacrifice on the cross and the practice of communion: โAnd know you notโฆwho bore the blame?โ Since the speaker seems repentant of his faults, and because of Christโs sacrifice, the Lord still invites the speaker to sit โโฆand taste My meat.โ
Summary/Analysis of the Poem
This poem is clearly a religious one, as George Herbert was a Christian, and even a priest for the latter part of his life. This Poem perhaps a guess as to what the poetโs first encounter with God would be after he left this world. In the background of this poem, love here is personified and is God, as the persona refers to Love as โLordโ in the final stanza.
โ Love bade me welcome.โ
I- the short, easily comprehensible sentence emphasises the simplicity of Godโs forgiveness of sins and welcome into Heaven โ Christians believed that once you leave a confess your sins and proclaim your faith in Christ, you are Heaven-bound.
โDust and sinโ
-sibilance represents the hissing of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, showing readers that this phrase is particularly negative in meaning;
– “dust” is a reference to original sin, as Adam, one of the original sinners, is made from dust;
– also can be a reference to the damnation of mankind in death, as the saying goes “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust;”
– “sin” is direct reference to the evils that caused the downfall of man.
โQuick-eyedโ
โ emphasises Godโs quickness to forgive His children when they repent.
โDrew nearer to meโ
โ shows that God takes the initiative to go to the persona, showing His willingness to save him.
โSweetly questioningโ
โ to say these words requires the lips to be in a kissing shape;
โ kissing is an act of love and compassion;
โ this shows, through what God asked, His love for His children.
โIf I lacked any thing.โ
โ even as the King of Heaven, He asks the persona about his needs;
โ this shows Godโs ever-benevolent selflessness.
โA guest, I answered, worthy to be here:โ
โ the caesura in this phrase slows the pace of which it is read;
โ it displays the personaโs nervousness in the presence of God.
โLove said, You shall be he.โ
โ even God, speaking to a mortal soul, capitalises the โYโ in โYou;โ
โ this is God showing the persona his worthiness in His eyes.
โUnkind and ungratefulโ
โ the repetition of the โun-โ prefix emphasises the negativity in the personaโs life.
โCannotโ
โ this implies that it is physically impossible to look straight at God;
โ it is believed that even the highest ranks of angels, Godโs divine creations, could not look directly at God for fear of burning in His glory (the reason behind having many wings: to cover their eyes).
โLove took my handโ
โ taking oneโs hand is a gesture of compassion and closeness;
โ it also shows that the relationship between God and the persona is a personal relationship, as holding of hands is usually reserved for people whom you share personal relationships with.
โSmilingโ
โ friendly gesture;
โ it shows Godโs eagerness to save His child.
โTruth Lord, but I have marred them:โ
โ caesura again slows the pace;
โ it shows the personaโs shame in his confession, as would be normal for sinners to feel when confessing to a priest.
โLet my shame
go where it doth deserveโ
โ the enjambment quickens the pace, presenting the personaโs eagerness to accept his damnation that he feels he deserves as a result of his sinful life;
โ โshameโ can be seen as a metaphor for his soul โ his life was so full of sin that he feels that his soul is naught but shameful to him;
โ โgoโ implies that his destination is far, and as we are aware, Hell is very much distant from Heaven;
โ the alliteration of the โdโ in โdoth deserveโ is a hard sound to signify the hard punishments that the persona expects to befall him.
โBore the blameโ
โ the alliteration of โbโ is bouncy and lightens the tone of the phrase;
โ it is a happy thing that Christ died for our sins.
โYou must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:โ
โ the caesura here slows the pace, but it gives the phrase a more gentle and caring tone;
โ the change to present tense in โsays Loveโ shows that what is being said here by God will be said forever, as He never forsakes His children;
โ โmy meatโ is a reference to the soul-healing Body of Christ that saves a damned soul from eternal punishment.
โSo I did sit and eat.โ
โ the poem ends with another simple sentence, further emphasising the simplicity of Godโs forgiveness and acceptance of mortal souls into His kingdom;
โ the monosyllabic nature of this sentence further adds to the emphasis of its simplicity.
The rhyme scheme: ababcc
โ the rhyme scheme, split into a quatrain and a couplet, may be seen as representations of a mortal, imperfect soul and its healing;
โ abab would symbolise the sinner, unsettled in his morals, imperfect, and unworthy;
โ cc would symbolise the sinner becoming settled and perfect through faith, receiving Godโs forgiveness, and made worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
โLoveโ as a personification
โ Love here, as mentioned earlier, is a personification of God;
โ personification is to give something human qualities, and is often used to allow readers to build a more personal relationship with the subject;
โ Christians believed that it is important to have a close, personal relationship with God, therefore the use of personification in this poem would be viewed to present that message.