“Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store, / Though foolishly he lost the same”
The poem’s opening line begins with an address to God and then describes humanity’s fall from the wealth and innocence of the Garden of Eden. The eating of the forbidden fruit of knowledge caused humanity’s loss of its blessed state.
“Most poore: / With thee”
Thanks to the unique shape of the poem, its thematic low-point corresponds to its shortest lines, a mere two syllables (monometer).
“Then shall the fall further the flight in me”
With its powerful alliteration and assonance, this memorable line sums up the felix culpa message of the poem: the fall of humanity into sin is fortunate because it makes resurrection possible.
“Let me combine, / And feel thy victorie: / For, if I imp my wing on thine”
In these lines, the speaker addresses God directly. Using visceral diction, he asks to physically join with God. Using special terminology from falconry, the speaker asks to have his feather joined to God’s wing.
“Affliction shall advance the flight in me.”
In another expression of the felix culpa theme, the speaker ends on a victorious note suggesting that all his suffering will be worth it in teaching him how to rise with Christ.
