Affliction (I) (Herbert poem) Essay Questions

Early in the poem, what does the speaker expect to get out of serving God and why is this shown to be wrong?

At the beginning of the poem the speaker is delighted to be devoting himself to religion because he assumes the result will be “joys,” “benefits,” and “wages.” Even the stars will be his, he thinks. As the poem progresses, however, it is clear that the speaker was deluded. The financial images used by the speaker show that he thinks his relationship with God can be like a contract between boss and worker. He expects to be directly compensated for each thing he does. When he faces sickness and misery instead, he blames God for tricking him. The attitude reveals that the speaker falsely assumes that God has guaranteed him something. By the end of the poem, the speaker tries to learn not to expect anything. The relationship with God cannot be like a contract.

How does the speaker’s state of mind change or stay the same during the poem?

At the beginning, the speaker is full of joy. He imagines that life will be an eternal springtime and that he will be materially rewarded for his service to God. In the middle part of the poem, the speaker begins to get sick. His friends start to die and he feels alone. He blames God for tricking him. At the end of the poem, the speaker tries to resign himself to God’s will. He hopes merely to be of use, which is progress for him. However, even up until the poem’s final lines, it is unclear whether the speaker has truly learned his lesson because he is still threatening to go and seek out another master.

If George Herbert was a devoutly religious poet, why might “Affliction” have a speaker with such confused ideas about religion?

While some have read the poem as a parallel to Herbert’s own spiritual journey, it’s not possible to completely conflate the poem’s speaker with its author. The speaker’s beliefs do not necessarily have to line up with those of the author. However, the speaker’s confused ideas about religion are helpful as a negative example. Just as the speaker wishes to be of use like a knife or tree, his poem reveals the pain that comes from misunderstanding the human-God relationship. The reader learns alongside the speaker that having concrete expectations of God is a recipe for disaster.

Does the poem have a resolution? Does the speaker end differently than he began?

The poem does not have an easy or obvious resolution. The speaker begins the poem in a joyful mental state. He then faces misery and sickness. By the end, he is trying to love God in the correct way, but it is unclear whether he has really learned his lesson. He threatens God in the final stanza and while he affirms that he wants to love God the way he should, he casts doubt on his ability to do this through the double-negative of the final sentence.

What are some possible meanings of the final lines: ““Ah my dear God! though I am clean forgot,/Let me not love thee, if I love thee not”? Why might the poem end on an ambiguous note?

The first part has two meanings: either the speaker has forgotten to God, or the speaker has been forgotten by God. The final line can mean 'Don't give me permission to love you if I don't really love you' or it can mean something like 'I'm so certain of my love for you that you can even take it away from me if you find that it is false.' By leaving the last lines ambiguous, the poet shows that we should question to what degree the speaker really has the answers. Sometimes there cannot be any clear answers or resolution. Ironically, the reader can see something the speaker cannot: sometimes the best way to love is not to ask any questions at all.