The Altar

After discussing the poem, The Altar, in class, I felt the urge to continue to look at it and make a blog post on it. As a Christian, I can relate to the tensions Herbert feels between being unworthy of God, while at the same time being sanctified and atoned by Him. We are fallen and all we can offer to Him is something that is broken. However, as Herbert notes, while we may only rear a broken altar cemented with tears, we have still been sanctified by the power of God. As the Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:8)

At this point in the poem, we realize that close reading is not enough in allowing us to fully understand and grasp the true meaning and effect of this poem. The importance of looking at poetry in its historical context is apparent when discussing The Altar. By realizing that Herbert wrote the poem in 16^th and 17^th century during the Protestant Reformation, the reader can better appreciate and understand why this poem is so important. In using the altar as a metaphor for the human heart, Herbert illuminates the essence of poetry. By not changing the end line to “sanctifie this HEART to be thine,” Herbert keeps the poem from becoming just another paragraph or string of sentences. The poem begins and ends with the metaphor of the altar. While at first it was broken and worthless, in the end it has been sanctified and made whole by the work of the Lord.

Likewise, his use of the rhyme scheme reflects his efforts to present something of value and worth before God. Knowing God has sanctified us allows us to try and live a life worthy of Him, and Herbert reflects this belief in the use of his rhyme scheme in the poem. In the same way, Herbert uses the form of the poem to reveal the separation between God and man and how the altar serves to connect the distance. Rejecting the ideas of the Catholic Church of the time, Herbert claims that the connection between the two is done not out of human will or effort but instead through the sanctifying power of the Lord.