Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems
Inspirational PoemsThe Pulley
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by;
“Let us,” said He, “pour on him all we can:
Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.”
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all His treasure,
Rest in the bottom lay.
“For if I should,” said He,
“Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.
“Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness;
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.”
Herbert imagines God giving humans many gifts but withholding perfect rest. Human restlessness becomes a force that draws people back toward deeper meaning.
The poem teaches that dissatisfaction is not always useless. Sometimes it pushes a person to ask better questions about purpose. The pulley symbolizes a hidden force that lifts the soul. Restlessness becomes the rope that pulls the human heart toward God.
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Interpretation Symbols and Their Meaning
Love (III)
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked anything.
“A guest,” I answered, “worthy to be here:”
Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I, the unkind, 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 marred 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.
Herbert presents Love as a gracious host welcoming a guilty guest. The poem teaches humility, forgiveness, and the acceptance of grace.
The poem teaches that shame should not make a person refuse mercy. Real love restores rather than humiliates. The tone is tender and reverent. The mood moves from hesitation to peace.
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Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
Death Be Not Proud
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Donne addresses Death directly and refuses to fear it as an ultimate power. The poem turns mortality into a lesson about courage and faith.
The poem teaches that fear often grows when we give it too much authority. Donne lowers Death by speaking to it boldly. Apostrophe is central: the speaker talks to Death as if it were a proud person. Paradox appears in “Death, thou shalt die.”
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To Daffodils
Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attained his noon.
Stay, stay,
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the even-song;
And, having prayed together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you,
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die
As your hours do, and dry
Away,
Like to the summer’s rain;
Or as the pearls of morning’s dew,
Ne’er to be found again.
Herrick compares human life to daffodils that fade quickly. The poem teaches that beauty and time are brief.
The poem teaches readers not to waste life by assuming there will always be more time. The daffodils, summer rain, and morning dew make the lesson gentle but unforgettable.
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Literary Technique Imagery and Personification
Against Idleness and Mischief
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
In works of labour or of skill,
I would be busy too:
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.
In books, or work, or healthful play,
Let my first years be passed,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last.
Watts uses the busy bee as a model for useful work. The poem teaches children and students that time should be spent in learning, work, and healthy play.
The poem teaches that idleness can lead to trouble, while purposeful effort builds character. This is one of the clearest poems about life lessons for students because it connects time management with moral growth.
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Reader Use Best For Students
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