Pulley by George Herbert, Summary and Analysis

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1. The Pulley by George Herbert Dr. Vipul V. Kapoor (YouTube Channel: Study Lovers by Dr. Vipul V. Kapoor)

2. Introduction George Herbert (1593-1633) was a religious and metaphysical poet. He is known for his pure and subtle use of language. Coleridge wrote of Herbert's diction that “Nothing can be more pure, manly, or unaffected.” ‘The Pulley’ is a poem about the restlessness of human nature. Here, the poet has used a metaphor to compare the busy life of man with the pulley. It is written in four stanzas of five lines each.

3. भारी सामान उठाने की मशीन जिसमें एक रस्‍सी और चरखी होती है

4. First Stanza When God at first made man, Having a glass of blessings standing by, “Let us,” said he, “pour on him all we can. Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie, Contract into a span.” When God made human beings, he thought to gift him all richness of the world which was dispersed. He wanted to pour a glass full of all his blessings.

5. Second Stanza So strength first made a way; Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour , pleasure. When almost all was out, God made a stay, Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure, Rest in the bottom lay. So God gifted man strength first and then beauty, wisdom, honour , and pleasure. But when everything was given, God retained one thing and that was “rest” which lied at the bottom of the glass of blessings.

6. Third Stanza For if I should,” said he, “ Bestow this jewel also on my creature, He would adore my gifts instead of me, And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature; So both should losers be. The God thought that if I gift this rest too, he will become the slave of all his gifts. He will never remember me. Hence, we (the God and the man) both will be the losers.

7. Fourth Stanza “ Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness; Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.” Then, the God showed his kindness and thought that he would give “rest” only to those people who work “restlessly”. The God thought that let the man be rich but I will always keep him weary (tired), so that this weariness will lead him towards me.

8. Theme of the Poem God has given us everything, richness, power, honour , beauty, wisdom and what not? But God thinks twice before giving us “rest”. “Rest” is given only to those who work “restlessly”.

9. Form of the Poem The poem a  four-stanza poem divided into quintains ( groups of five lines). The rhyme scheme used in the first three stanzas of the poem is ‘ ababa ’ while that of the fourth stanza is ‘ abcba ’.

10. Poetic Devices Personification: The qualities like wisdom, strength, honour etc. are presented as living as the poet mentions them as entering into human existence. Alliteration: “Let” and “Lie” (line No. 4), “both” and “be” (line No. 15) Metaphor: “Pulley” stands for restless nature of human beings. Imagery: “Glass of Blessings”