He Wished for the Cloths of Heaven and Love by George Herbert
English Literature (Paper 1)
Candice Giselle Cutinha #313
Question2
‘He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven’ by W.B. Yeats deals with the theme of unrequited love and the poet has been able to bring out this aspect in such a vivid manner. He expresses his love by saying that if he had all the riches in the world, he would give them to the one he loved in order to show her how much she meant to him and since he isn’t rich, he gives her his dreams instead. The poem ends with some kind of a word of warning where the poet says he’s placed his dreams under her feet and she must be cautious lest she crush them. This poem comes across as a declaration of love where the poet has used rich imagery and metaphorically described the sky as a cloth. He paints a beautiful image of the sky as being ‘enwrought with golden and silver light”, golden during the day and silver with the light of the moon.
The picture created in the mind of the reader of spreading the cloths under her feet, like a cloak, is a romantic and chivalrous one. The tone in the beginning of ‘Cloths of Heaven’ is one of exuberance as it describes a joyful, effervescent declaration of love but towards the end it changes to fearful as the poet considers that his love might be rejected. I believe this poem captures the pain of unanswered love which is capable of permanently wounding a person, hence to avoid being a victim of such a situation, Yeats is warning his love to be careful with his heart and dreams for he feels fragile and vulnerable in his declaration of love.
George Herbert’s ‘Love’ on the other hand, explores his love for the Almighty. He draws attention to the fact that God is love. It shows God as a gracious host, perceptive and tolerant of the unavoidable failings of his honest followers, full of generosity and goodness, who overcomes all of objections to uniting ourselves with Him. The poet who is keen on meeting God holds himself back because he feels undeserving as a result of the sins he has
Candice Giselle Cutinha #313
Question2
‘He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven’ by W.B. Yeats deals with the theme of unrequited love and the poet has been able to bring out this aspect in such a vivid manner. He expresses his love by saying that if he had all the riches in the world, he would give them to the one he loved in order to show her how much she meant to him and since he isn’t rich, he gives her his dreams instead. The poem ends with some kind of a word of warning where the poet says he’s placed his dreams under her feet and she must be cautious lest she crush them. This poem comes across as a declaration of love where the poet has used rich imagery and metaphorically described the sky as a cloth. He paints a beautiful image of the sky as being ‘enwrought with golden and silver light”, golden during the day and silver with the light of the moon.
The picture created in the mind of the reader of spreading the cloths under her feet, like a cloak, is a romantic and chivalrous one. The tone in the beginning of ‘Cloths of Heaven’ is one of exuberance as it describes a joyful, effervescent declaration of love but towards the end it changes to fearful as the poet considers that his love might be rejected. I believe this poem captures the pain of unanswered love which is capable of permanently wounding a person, hence to avoid being a victim of such a situation, Yeats is warning his love to be careful with his heart and dreams for he feels fragile and vulnerable in his declaration of love.
George Herbert’s ‘Love’ on the other hand, explores his love for the Almighty. He draws attention to the fact that God is love. It shows God as a gracious host, perceptive and tolerant of the unavoidable failings of his honest followers, full of generosity and goodness, who overcomes all of objections to uniting ourselves with Him. The poet who is keen on meeting God holds himself back because he feels undeserving as a result of the sins he has