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Redemption. By George Herbert. Having been tenant long to a rich lord, Not thriving, I resolvèd to be bold, And make a suit unto him, to afford. A new small-rented lease, and cancel th’ old. In heaven at his manor I him sought; They told me there that he was lately gone. About some land, which he had dearly bought.
There are but a few epic poems in literary history that hope to match the scope of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Milton, after suffering great personal tragedies in his own life (more about that below), wanted to write an epic tragedy, a poem about loss and redemption.
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This sonnet condenses the Christian teaching about the redemption in Christ’s death on the Cross into a single image of a tenant seeking a new lease from his lord.
The best Redemption study guide on the planet. The fastest way to understand the poem's meaning, themes, form, rhyme scheme, meter, and poetic devices.
- Stanza One
- Stanza Two
- Stanza Three
- Stanza Four
Lines 1-2
In the first lines of this text the speaker begins by stating that he is a tenant of a “rich lord.” He has been in this potion for a long time, but is not thriving. The close positioning of the “rich lord” and the words “Not thriving” immediately inform the reader that the speaker believes these two things are connected. He is unhappy in his tenancy and is seeking to make a change. The following lines explain what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it. Before progressing into the poem...
Lines 3-4
Another element that the speaker reveals to the reader is that he is “resolvèd to be bold.” This means that normally he would not dare to speak out. This time though, it is likely that he has had enough and is ready to stand up for himself. This is something that would take a great amount of bravery as the lord (in the form of the landowner and God) has his entire life in his hands. The speaker’s plan is to go to the man and to “make a suit unto him.” He will explain that he wants a “new smal...
In the second stanza of ‘Redemption’ the speaker begins by trying to find the lord of the land. He must seek him out in “heaven at his manor.” So different are their lives that the speaker must leave his mundane life behind and travel to a heaven-like manor. Not only does the manor represent heaven, when considered in the context of a man seeking a...
In the third stanza of, and the first tercet, the turn, or volta, occurs. He describes how he traveled back home to seek out God, knowing now that he can’t be found in Heaven. The speaker takes into consideration the fact that this deity has a “great birth.” Aide from anything divine, his lineage is kingly. The speaker expects him to act in a kingl...
It becomes clear in these lines the speaker is following the path of the crucifixion. He is unable to find Christ, instead, he hears “a ragged noise and mirth.” This represents the crowds which gathered and cried out in support of Christ’s crucifixion. Finally, the speaker comes upon Christ. He is there, between “thieves and murders.” Here, Herbert...
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Christ’s terrible death, strangely enough, earns the “redemption” that the speaker expected God to grant or deny through plain old almighty power. What’s more, that “redemption” is boundless: God offers it to everyone, the poem implies—“thieves and murderers” included. In this poem's view, then, Christian redemption simply ...
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What does it mean to be redeemed? How can religion, or some other force, offer us a second chance? The following poems explore the issues of conversion and redemption in different ways, dating from the ninth century right through to the twentieth. 1. Anonymous, ‘ The Dream of the Rood ’.
