The Agony | George Herbert | Christian Poems
George Herbert: 17th-century poet and Anglican priest. In ‘The Agony’, Herbert explores core mysteries of Christian faith, encouraging a deeper reflection on the nature of sin, the cost of redemption, and the transformative power of divine love.
‘The Agony’, part of Herbert’s collection ‘The Temple’, Herbert explores theological dimensions of sin, suffering, and redemption. This poem, through its triadic structure, conveys complex spiritual truths through poetic form.
‘The Agony’ commences with a philosophical reflection on the nature of sin. Herbert employs striking imagery to illustrate sin’s pervasive influence and the burden it imposes on the human soul. He begins with an epistemological musing: ‘Philosophers have measured mountains, / Fathom’d the depths of seas, of states, and kings, / Walk’d with a staff to heaven, and traced fountains: / But there are two vast, spacious things, / The which to measure it doth more behove: / Yet few there are that sound them; Sin and Love.’ Herbert suggests sin and love to be the most profound human experiences, and so explores such implications as arise.
In the first stanza, Herbert presents sin as a corruptive force. The metaphor ‘juice’ refers to Christ’s blood, which becomes wine in the Eucharist. Herbert writes, ‘Who knows not Love, let him assay / And taste that juice, which on the cross a pike / Did set again abroach; then let him say / If ever he did taste the like.’ This metaphorical language emphasizes the tangible and bitter reality of sin, and the transformative power of Christ’s sacrifice, linking the physical reality of the crucifixion to the spiritual nourishment provided through the sacrament of Communion.
The second stanza transitions to Christ’s suffering, with a particular focus on Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane and the crucifixion. Herbert’s depiction of Christ’s torment encapsulates both physical and spiritual dimensions of suffering. He writes, ‘There is no thraldom which is so exact / As to be master’d by a soul wrought free.’ These verses capture the profound internal struggle and the ultimate submission to divine will that define Christ’s experience in Gethsemane. Herbert’s portrayal brings readers into the depths of Christ’s agony, highlighting its significance as an act of unparalleled love and redemption.
In the third stanza, Herbert examines the redemptive power of Christ’s suffering. Herbert contrasts the agony induced by sin with the hope and healing provided through Christ’s sacrifice. Herbert writes, ‘Love is that liquor sweet and most divine, / Which my God feels as blood; but I, as wine.’ The metaphor expresses the transformative essence of Christ’s sacrifice, turning suffering into salvation. Imagery of blood and wine joins the crucifixion with the Eucharist, reinforcing the theme of redemption, and enduring impact of Christ’s sacrifice, the agony, on believers. Herbert’s construction of this narrative—from sin through suffering to redemption—invites readers to contemplate the sacrificial love of Jesus.
The Agony | George Herbert | Christian Poems
Philosophers have measur’d mountains,
Fathom’d the depths of seas, of states, and kings,
Walk’d with a staff to heaven, and traced fountains:
But there are two vast, spacious things,
The which to measure it doth more behove:
Yet few there are that sound them; Sin and Love.
Who would know Sin, let him repair
Unto Mount Olivet; there shall he see
A man so wrung with pains, that all his hair,
His skin, his garments bloody be.
Sin is that press and vice, which forceth pain
To hunt his cruel food through every vein.
Who knows not Love, let him assay
And taste that juice, which on the cross a pike
Did set again abroach; then let him say If ever he did taste the like.
Love is that liquor sweet and most divine,
Which my God feels as blood; but I, as wine.