June 11, 2017
Christ who was symbolized as love in the poem was seen assuring sinners of his love for them by inviting the remorse sinners into his abode to dine with him "Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back" according to line 1. The invited human at first, resented his invite on the ground of imperfection and sinfulness "Guilty of dust and sin" as seen in line 2 and "I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear" seen in line 9 of the poem. At the completion of the poem, the invited sinner testified to the love and benevolence of Jesus Christ:
'“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.”
So I did sit and eat."
George Herbert's poems are in form of dramatic monologues. This poem and his poem titled "The Pulley" both possess monologue revealing the conversation that transpired between two characters. "The Pulley" showed conversation between God and the poem speaker who witnessed the creation but "Love III" is a conversation between Christ and sinner. When the sinner claimed he wasn't worthy of standing before Christ "I cannot look at thee" but Christ replied in line 12 saying "Who made the eyes but I?" and such line is an instance of assonance.
Line 13-14 says "Truth, Lord, but I have marr’d them; let my shame/ Go where it doth deserve.” which means "Lord, the truth is that I have wrongly used the eye given so let me shamefully go to where I sinfully belong" both lines have an enjambment and a personification of "my shame". The line 16 which says "My dear, then I will serve" can be interpreted as "OK. Christ, I promise to worship you." The phrase "My dear" refers to Christ.
Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)
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