1. Easter Wings
Q.1. What is Easter?
Ans. Easter is a festival in the Christian Church Commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is observed on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or just after March 21.
Q.2. What Biblical allusion do you find in the poem, “Easter Wings”
Ans. The Biblical story of the first sin of Man (Adam) and his consequent fall from the blissful Eden, the Garden of Heaven, due to Satan’s temptation, has been depicted at the beginning of the poem, “Easter Wings”.
Q.3. What did Man lose foolishly?
Ans. Man lost his spiritual quality because of his own folly. This refers to the original sin, committed by Adam and Eve by violating God’s command not to eat the fruit of the Forbidden Tree of Knowledge under the temptation of Satan.
Q.4. How did Man decay and become poor?
Ans. After committing sin, Man’s moral nature went on declining till, from the spiritual point of view, he became very poor, almost bankrupt. In other words, Man’s nature went on becoming more and more sinful.
Q.5. How can the sin of man be transformed into redemption? Or, Give the meaning of the expression, “Then shall the fall To further the flight in me”.
Ans. If there is no fall, there can be no flight. Man first fell from the grace of God, when he disobeyed Him but he got his redemption through repentance and God’s forgiveness. The poet thinks, if God forgives him for his sins, he would be spiritually rejuvenated.
Q.6. Whose victory does the poet want to sing and in what way?
Ans. On Easter Sunday Herbert, the poet clergy wishes to sing about the victory of Jesus Christ, soaring above the sky harmoniously like a lark. In fact, the poet wishes to sing about Christ’s Resurrection which signifies his triumph over death and thus achieves his spiritual
Q.7. How did God purge the poet of his sins?
Ans. In the poet’s opinion, God had punished him with sickness and shame to purge him of his sins.
Q.8. How does the poet want to feel on Easter Sunday?
Ans. On the holy Easter, Sunday Herbert expresses his strong desire to be one with God or Christ and feel wholeheartedly his (Christ’s) victory over death.
Q.9. What kind of help does Herbert expect from Christ?
Ans. Herbert compares himself to a lark with damaged wings. He, therefore, urges God or Christ to repair his damaged wings so that he may be able to fly with increased power. The damaged wings imply the poet’s miserable condition brought about by his sinfulness.
Q.10. What is the central theme of the poem, “Easter Wings”?
Ans. The central theme of the poem, “Easter Wings” is the poet’s earnest appeal to God to allow him to be one with Him on the holy Easter Day and feel the victory of Christ over death. Thus he will achieve his spiritual upliftment.
Q.11. What is the theme of the poem “Easter Wings”?
Ans. The poet laments the utter moral and spiritual degeneration of the human race and seeks salvation through Jesus Christ.
Q.12. What does ‘Easter’ stand for?
Ans. Easter is a festival in the Christian Church Commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Q.13. How is Herbert reconciled with God after a course rebellion against Him?
Ans. It seems that a voice has spoken to the poet, addressing him, a “Child”. What the poet means is that an inner voice in his heart represents the voice of God.
Q.14. How did a man, according to Herbert, become nearer to God?
Ans. The poet could become nearer to God having been cleansed of his sins.
II. The Collar
Q.15 What does the “Collar” symbolize?
Ans. A collar is a neckband attached to a coat or a shirt. In the poem of Herbert, “Collar” conveys the idea of the collar worn by a priest as a symbol of his priesthood. This indicates the rigorous discipline of priestly life, from which Herbert desires freedom.
Q.16. What does George Herbert mean by the word ‘collar’?
Ans. A collar is a neckband attached to a coat or a shirt. In the poem of Herbert, “Collar” conveys the idea of the collar worn by a priest as a symbol of his priesthood. This indicates the rigorous discipline of priestly life, from which Herbert desires freedom.
Q.17. What is the nature of the poem, “The Collar”?
Ans. “The Collar” is a religious poem depicting Herbert’s dilemma for his self-denial of all worldly pleasures but ends with his calm and submissive surrender to God.
Q.18. What does Herbert ever sigh and pine for?
Ans. Herbert, the poet-clergy has to lead a life of self-denial and that is why he has ever to sigh and pine for worldly pleasures.
Q.19. Which worldly things were Herbert deprived of and why did he heave sighs and shed tears?
Ans. As a devoted priest of the church Herbert was deprived of wine, fruits, flowers, and garlands symbolizing all joyous celebrations and worldly pleasures. For this reason, he heaves sighs, and sheds tears, expressing his bitter disappointment.
Q.20. How will Herbert recover from the loss of his youthful pleasures?
Ans. Herbert tells himself that he can make up for all the wasted years of his life by how enjoying double the number of pleasures which he would normally have enjoyed.
Q.21. How does Herbert react to the flimsy bond of religion?
Ans. At the height of his rebellious thought, Christianity appears to Herbert as a rope of sand which have no power to bind. In other words, his life as a priest could not have satisfied him, even though it appeared at the time that he would be able to draw strength from it.
Q.22. How does Herbert chide himself?
Ans. Herbert chides himself saying that he is willingly getting used to the conduct of church life and that he always closes his eyes, shutting out reality.
Q.23. How does the poet dispel his fear of death?
Ans. The poet has made up his mind to pay no attention to the human skull which frightens a man with the thought of death. He has decided to enjoy the pleasures of worldly life and to pay no heed to those things which remind a man of death.
Q.24. “Have I no harvest but a thorn?”- In which poem notice this line?
Ans. The quoted line occurs in Herbert’s poem “The Collar”..
Q.25. How did the poet reply in response to calling ‘child’?
Ans. Submitting humbly to God, Herbert replied, “My Lord”
Q.26. What does the poem ‘Easter Wings’ symbolize?
Ans. “Easter Wings” symbolizes spiritual upliftment or spiritual flight through Christ’s mercy.
Q.27. How does the poet console himself in ‘The Collar’?
Ans. Herbert consoles himself with the thought that everything has not yet been lost. There is still time for him to give up his priestly vocation and return to a secular life with all its pleasures.
