Katelin Rice

December 8, 2015
FE Essay

Portrayal of God
God, or the divine subjects, have been an important part of literary history. Many focus
solely on Him, while others seem to avoid the subject like the plague. Whatever the case, it
seems that divine power is present wherever we look, whether explicitly stated or intentionally
excluded. Many writers in the seventeenth century, and even into the eighteenth, have portrayed
God in many different ways.
George Herbert uses the divine as a way to navigate through much of his writing. The
physicality of his poems is an important concept to acknowledge. The poem The Altar takes on
the literal shape of altar, much like Easter Wings, which are the form of wings. The physical
nature helps when explaining Herberts view of God. For instance, The Altar views the
construction of the church as a man-made institution. Herbert seems to be following the
Protestant view of a direct relationship with God. The poem ends by stating Oh let thy blessed
sacrifice be mine/and sanctify thy altar to be thine. It seems that the altar has been broken by
sin, which can be viewed as the speaker himself. He prays with his heart, which he believes will
give him a more direct way of speaking with God.
The next poet that addresses the concept of the divine is John Milton, however it is in a
much different way than Herbert. Milton talks explicitly about God in his theodicy Paradise

Lost. In this poem, he tells the story of Satans desire to justify the ways of God to man. Satan
battles with God and the angels, falls from Heaven, and enters Hell. This poem is ultimately a
way for Milton to condemn a world that has defeated him, but also a way to express his radial
Puritan views. During the late 1600s, God began to be talked about more definitively. He was
viewed as a clock maker, meaning if there is a clock, there must have been someone to make
it. I believe Milton wrote Paradise Lost during a time when his radical views were not being
fully support, therefore he used the poem as a way to attack human politics, government, and
authority.
During the Restoration Period, Jonathan Swift gained popularity through his writing,
specifically with Gullivers Travels. I think Swift is important to think about when discussing
the concept of God because he believed that humans were led away from reason by their own
human-ness, and not by the authority of some higher entity. In part 3, chapter ten of the book,
Gulliver meets the Struldbruggs, which are immortal people. He learns that at the age of 80,
these people are basically exiled and left for dead, even though they do not have the pleasure of
dying. Swift writes I grew heartily ashamed of the pleasing visions I had formed; and thought
no tyrant could invent a death into which I would not run with pleasure from such a life.
Gulliver wanted to take these people back to England to help his people understand that death is
a rational fear, yet they should not be so afraid of it. I believe Swift uses these people as a way of
showing that death is often a release from the disappointing world, lacking reason, which
humans have created.
The final poet that portrays God, or the divine, in an interesting way is William Cowper.
Cowper came along at the end of the eighteenth century, while literature was beginning to make
the shift into romanticism. Cowper was said to have been overly concerned with the state of his

soul, and prayed constantly. He was overwhelmed by the desire to express his devotion to God,
and used poetry as a means to fulfil himself. The poem The Task is a meditative poem that
reflects on experiences. Cowper uses the word fancy to describe imagination, which he
believes can destroy a person. In the final book of the poem, Cowper writes about a winter
evening. This is essentially an aesthetic experience versus a religious experience. The time of day
allows him to fade into oblivion, which he views as an achievement in itself. He is able to
transcend, outside of himself, and find comfort. He writes How calm is my recess, and how the
frost,/raging abroad, and the rough wind, endear/ the silence and warmth enjoyed within. And
also, Gladly the thickening mantle, and the green/and tender blade that feared the chilling
blast/escapes unhurt beneath so warm a veil. Each of the lines stated above explain that Cowper
used nature as a way to transcend from his earthly self, and find peace in something outside of
his body.
Each of these poets portrays God and transcendence in different ways, though all of them
are equally important to literary history. Through them, we are able to see the shift from the early
seventeenth century to the eighteenth century, and the ways views of God seemed to transition
with them.
Word Count: 834