Poets' Meeting: George Herbert, R.S. Thomas, and the Argument with GodGeorge Herbert (1593-1633) and R.S. Thomas (1913-2000), each a major English poet and an Anglican priest, lived in very different times, one before the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and industrialization, and one following. Yet the two men and their poetry bear striking resemblances: Both loved nature and music, both were pacifists, and both struggled with the claims of faith, the nature of the spiritual life, and the recurrent silences of God. This book demonstrates that when their lives and poems are studied side by side, each man enhances our understanding of the other. The first essay deals with their sense of calling as priests and poets. The work then explores topics that relate to their roles as parish priests: ministry, the Bible, the Eucharist, and prayer. Several essays follow dealing with broader questions of the human condition: faith, sin, love, reason and science, and nature. The work concludes by considering their poems about Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. |
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... holy Word . But thou art fire , sacred and hallow'd fire ; And I but earth and clay : should I presume To wear thy habit , the severe attire My slender compositions might consume . I am both foul and brittle ; much unfit To deal in holy ...
... Holy . Holy . Holy ? The first stanza seems conventional with the three wise men bringing gifts to the child , but instead of stable or manger , they come to " the work- shop " and instead of gold , frankincense and myrrh they bring ...
... Holy Communion " 81 " The Holy Communion ( W. manuscript ) " 80 Hooker , Richard 64-65 , 69 , 71 , 78 , 80 , 131 " How ? " 127 , 202 " The Hummingbird Never Came " 148 Hutchinson , F. E. 2 , 7 , 106 , 117 , 213 , 214 " In a Country ...
Contents
Preface | 1 |
The Vocations of Priest and Poet | 13 |
Country Parsons | 36 |
Copyright | |
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Poets' Meeting: George Herbert, R.S. Thomas, and the Argument with God William J. McGill Limited preview - 2003 |