A True Hymn (by George Herbert)
Joy, my Life, my Crown !
My heart was meaning all the day,
Somewhat it fain would say,
And still it runneth muttering up and down
With only this, My Joy, my Life, my Crown !
Yet slight not those few words ;
If truly said, they may take part
Among the best in art :
The fineness which a hymn or psalm affords
Is, when the soul unto the lines accord.
He who craves all the mind,
And all the soul, and strength, and time,
If the words only rhyme,
Justly complains that somewhat is behind
To make His verse, or write a hymn in kind.
Whereas if the heart be moved,
Although the verse be somewhat scant,
God doth supply the want ;
As when the heart says, sighing to be approved,
“O, could I love !” and stops, God writeth, “Loved.”
This poem describes that it's like to try and write a sermon for Sunday...
So. Enough business. Enough procratination. Back to craving all the mind, and all the soul, and strength, and time....if only words would rhyme
My heart was meaning all the day,
Somewhat it fain would say,
And still it runneth muttering up and down
With only this, My Joy, my Life, my Crown !
Yet slight not those few words ;
If truly said, they may take part
Among the best in art :
The fineness which a hymn or psalm affords
Is, when the soul unto the lines accord.
He who craves all the mind,
And all the soul, and strength, and time,
If the words only rhyme,
Justly complains that somewhat is behind
To make His verse, or write a hymn in kind.
Whereas if the heart be moved,
Although the verse be somewhat scant,
God doth supply the want ;
As when the heart says, sighing to be approved,
“O, could I love !” and stops, God writeth, “Loved.”
This poem describes that it's like to try and write a sermon for Sunday...
So. Enough business. Enough procratination. Back to craving all the mind, and all the soul, and strength, and time....if only words would rhyme
Comments
Herbert really was a gentle soul. I wonder what it was like to be a country priest back then.
Also, I'm sure that Herbert would want us to think of religious connotations of the word "crown" too. Oh, I'm doing a little stream of conscious here, (sorry) but I think that crown could carry the meaning "jack fell down and broke his crown" (meaning head) but then you take "head" and realize that it doesn't just mean "head" but also "authority" (as in, swallow hard, Christ is the head of the church... and we won't go to the next place)... so Herbert is saying a lot when he says, "Joy, my crown"
Now I need to look at the rest of the poem!
Now, yes, your line "when the soul unto the line accords." What a great line. Don't you experience that sometimes when you've written something? It takes on a life of its own?
Sometimes I have only a vague idea of what is going to work in my sermon until I preach it. That's one way "the soul unto the line accords," it's in the preaching of it. Same would have been true for Herbert who wrote hymns, it would have been in the singing.
I'm going to look up the word "fain"...because in addition to Ciardi (which I'll have to find at a library, Amazon doesn't have any available), the dictionary will help. Thanks, Diane.
disposed, prepared, inclined
willing - disposed or inclined toward; "a willing participant"; "willing helpers"
Adv. 1. fain - in a willing manner; "this was gladly agreed to"; "I would fain do it"
gladly, lief
But yes, as pastor, craving for "time"...and being "somewhat behind!" No wonder he is comforted by the realization that although the verse is scant and contains only "Joy, my life, my Crown" it becomes enough when God supplies the "want." That is always my hope in sermon prep!
So, once again I return to the drawing board to find out what preaching is as a performative theological act. It is not an essay. It is not a monologue. What is it then?
I think a sermon is a dialogue even though the other(s) may not respond verbally. Still, I aim to enter into a conversation with the idea of inviting people in, not that they actually speak with me (sigh).
Or, another great approach is to think of preaching as a "poetry slam." I recently heard a GREAT sermon at the Cathedral (St. James Episcopal, Chicago) that was a lot like a poetry slam (for confirmation, about the Holy Spirit), grounded in the preaching style of African American Baptist preachers. But, as the preacher said, if you preach this way you have to teach the congregation to respond like a Baptist congregation. Meaning, they need to respond or "talk back."
Preaching is a combination of finding what is natural to you and connects with your congregation. So for me at this time and place I approach preaching as a "spiritual exercise." The folks at small church are more mystics than theologians, so a less heady more spiritual approach is useful. And, I think, a fairly organic process for me too. I use John Shea's books of spritual reflections on the lectionary for years A, B, and C to help guide me. Of course I do a lot of exegesis, but often the point I emphasize comes from John Shea (ie prayer, faith, etc). And. Poetry is a great place start.
I do think that preaching has something to do with poetry (e.g. attending to the sounds, the importance of the form to the meaning). Poetry is a little more elliptical (as Archibald MacLeish once said, "A poem should not mean but be.") Of course, you can say this about a sermon too, but in a different way.
I remember hearing Barbara Brown Taylor speak once, and she actually recommended a book by Mary Oliver for preaching. "A Poetry Handbook"... a prose guide to understanding and writing poetry. If none of us can find the old old Ciardi book, I'll bet we can find help from Oliver, and she's still in print.
I wish Gannet Girl would stop by too. I appreciated Tripp's comments.
And, sure, we can use Mary Oliver. I love her poetry too.
I'm standing by...
Any suggestions about how one begins to discuss meter, rhyme and form? I mean I have some ideas about this Herbert poem, but I like your pointers to move me along.
The other thing, about sounds, in the very last line, the word "stops" is perfect, because if you say it out loud, you have to stop the sound, and then of course God intervenes in his struggle with a Word of grace.
I should have the poem in front of me when I do this...tell me what YOU think. I like your insights.
However even as he uses rhyme, he does not make the syllables even - in the first phrase of one section he will use 6 syllables (He who craves all the mind) and then in the first phrase of the next section he uses 7 (Whereas if the heart be moved). However it seems that the other lines are even syllables. Perhaps it's the pronounciation that changes the syllables. In that case it would be kind of like Hiaku in that it has a consistent structure (although not the same structure as Hiaku).
So. How important is all that to a poem? Is it all very intentional? I've always thought that the structure and syllable and rhyme (or not) were very intentional, that that is what really makes a poem a poem instead of prose.
How about if you choose the next one and let me know what you've chosen. I was downtown all day with the Refugee work so I haven't had a chance to go to the library or bookstore, but I will (by Friday at the latest) for Ciardi and Oliver books.