The Pulley by George Herbert
The Poem
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
Let us, (said he) pour on him all we can
Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.
So strength first made a way,
Then beautie flow’d then wisdome, honour, pleasure,
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottome lay.
For if I should (said he)
Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in nature, not the God of nature,
So both should losers be.
Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessnesse.
Let him be rich and wearie, that at least,
If a goodnesse leade him not, yet wearinesse,
May tosse him to my breast
Content Analysis
The poet in this poem goes into the mind of God Almighty during creation. According to the poet, God bestow on man all His blessings, riches, beauties, wisdom, honour, pleasure and strength. After releasing all these, “Rest” is put in the bottom of all the treasure. God does not give man “Rest.”
God said that, if he should bestow rest on man, man would abandon God and adore rest, nature would be worshipped and not God. If these should happen, both man and God would be losers when man refuses to worship God.
The last stanza explains the meaning of the title. Pulley is a tool used to draw something heavy closer. God with-holds rest in order to draw man closer to His bosom. He uses it as an instrument to draw man to Himself.
Themes
Alpha and the Omega: This poem affirms the supremacy of the Almighty God. He created man the way he wanted man to be, that is why he bestowed on man all His blessings except “Rest.”
Restlessness in Man: This poem educates us more on why man is always after something and does not rest. The poet tells us that it is natural, that it is the design of the Almighty God to draw man closer to his bosom.
Love of God for Man: We can see from this poem that God so much love man that he bestows on man His blessings and with-held “Rest” to draw man to His bosom so that man should not go astray.
Worship: The poem stresses the importance of worshipping God, because God wants man to adore Him and not any of His creatures, hence he with-holds “Rest.”
Poetic Devices
Metaphor: In stanza 3,”Rest” is referred to as” Jewel.”
“Bestow this jewel also on my creature.”
Symbolism: ‘Pulley,” the title of the poem is an instrument used in drawing something closer. The symbol is used in the poem because; God wants to draw man closer to Himself.
Pun: This is a figure of speech that plays on words. Rest is used in different senses in the poem. In line 16,”Yet let him keep the rest.” (To with-hold the remaining)
In line ten, “Rest” as used here means to relax, sleep or having rest of mind, “Rest in the bottome lay.”
Synecdoche: In the last line of the poem “Breast” as used here refers to God. A part is used to represent a whole.
Tone: Though the poem is humorous but has a somber tone because God with-holds rest from man.
Language: The poet uses direct language and this makes the poem easier to understand. There is also the use of personal pronouns (us, we, I, and me); this makes it more direct than reported speech