Easter Wings

Quiz: Easter Wings by George Herbert

1. [Recall – Form] Easter Wings is an example of a specific poetic form in which the visual layout of the text reflects its subject matter. What is the technical Latin term for this form, and what shape does the poem create on the page?

1. [Recall – Publication] In what year was Easter Wings published, and in which collection did it appear? What was the significance of that year for Herbert personally?

1. [Recall – Speaker & Structure] How many stanzas does Easter Wings contain, and how does the physical structure of each stanza mirror the poem's emotional journey?

1. [Recall – Key Image] What creature is invoked in the poem as a symbol of joyful spiritual ascent, and what two qualities associated with that creature connect it to the theme of resurrection?

1. [Comprehension – Stanza 1] What biblical event does the first stanza address, and how do the contracting lines of that stanza visually reinforce what is being described?

1. [Comprehension – Stanza 2] How does the second stanza differ in focus from the first, and what personal circumstances does Herbert reflect upon as he moves from the broad to the intimate?

1. [Comprehension – Symbolism] Herbert uses a falconry term, "imp," in connection with the symbol of wings. According to the analysis, what does this term mean in its falconry context, and why is it significant to the poem's central argument about grace?

1. [Analysis – Tone] The analysis describes the tone of Easter Wings as balancing two seemingly opposite emotional states simultaneously. Identify those two states and explain how the poem's expanding and contracting lines give them physical form.

1. [Analysis – Contrasting Images] The poem uses specific paired images of fullness and emptiness — such as "wealth and store" set against states of poverty and thinness. What larger spiritual journey do these contrasting states map onto, and at what point in each stanza do the emptiest images appear?

1. [Analysis – Context & Craft] Herbert abandoned a promising career at court to serve a rural parish. How might this biographical decision inform a reading of Easter Wings, particularly its themes of humility, loss, and the desire to be lifted by a power greater than oneself?

Answer Key

1. The form is called carmen figuratum (pattern poetry). The lines of each stanza expand and contract to a narrow point at the center, then expand again, creating the visual shape of a pair of wings on the page.

1. The poem was published in 1633 in Herbert's collection The Temple. That same year, Herbert died, making the publication posthumous.

1. The poem contains two stanzas. The physical shape of each stanza — widening lines that taper to the narrowest point at the center before widening again — mirrors the emotional arc of descent (fall/despair) followed by ascent (renewal/grace).

1. The lark is invoked as a symbol of joyful spiritual ascent. Its two associated qualities are its upward flight and its harmonious song, both of which connect it to the themes of resurrection and spiritual joy.

1. The first stanza addresses the biblical Fall of Adam and Eve, who squandered the abundance God gave them through their own folly. The lines physically contract word by word as the narrative describes humanity's decline, so the shrinking text enacts the loss being described.

1. The second stanza shifts from a universal, humanity-wide perspective to a personal, autobiographical reflection. Herbert considers his own life, which he describes as beginning in sorrow and being marked by illness and shame, making the poem's plea for uplift deeply personal rather than merely theological.

1. In falconry, "imp" refers to the practice of repairing a damaged wing by grafting new feathers onto it. Herbert uses this to argue that even a repaired or mended wing is still a genuine wing capable of flight — suggesting that a soul restored through divine grace is no less authentic or capable of spiritual ascent.

1. The two simultaneously held emotional states are humility/sorrow and quiet joy/hope. The contracting lines give physical form to the descent into sorrow and smallness, while the expanding lines enact the lyrical rise into gratitude and wonder, so both states coexist within the poem's very shape.

1. The contrasting images of fullness and emptiness map onto the spiritual journey of the Fall and personal sin on one side, and the hope of divine restoration on the other. The emptiest, most compressed images ("most poor," "most thin") appear at the narrowest central point of each stanza — the visual and thematic lowest moment — before the lines begin to expand outward again.

1. Herbert's choice to leave worldly ambition behind for humble parish service mirrors the poem's movement from pride and worldly "wealth and store" toward acknowledged smallness and dependence on God. This biographical context lends the poem's humility an authenticity — the speaker's desire to be lifted by God rather than by personal achievement reflects a life choice Herbert himself enacted, deepening the sincerity the analysis identifies in the poem's tone.