LITERATURE: NON AFRICAN POETRY: THE PULLEY by George Herbert

THE PULLEY
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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 dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.  {5}
So strength first made 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.  {10}
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 should both losers be.  {15}
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.  {20}
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POEM ANALYSIS
The poem is a metaphysical poem that talks about God's creation of man in the beginning of time.
The first stanza talks about how God created man and how he would bless him with all the world'
s riches. The ''Let us'' in line 3 signifies God and his son,Jesus Christ and how they agreed to pour on man all they can
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The second stanza describes how God actually blessed man with strength, beauty, wisdom, honour and pleasure. When the ''glass of blessings'' as used in stanza 1 was almost empty,God withholds the remaining content thereby depriving man of one important blessing - The gift of Rest, "Perceiving that alone of all his treasure,Rest in the bottom lay.''
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In stanza 3, God gives his reason for withholding this 'jewel' (the gift of rest). His reason states;
Lines 13 &14 '' He would adore my gifts instead of me
                          And rest in nature,not the God of nature''
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In stanza 4, God still allows man to keep the gift of rest but makes him keep it with ''repining restlessness''. And God also made man to be weary plus his riches that if 'goodness' i.e his riches does not make him remember his creator, weariness would.
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THEMES
1. The supremacy of God
2. The insatiable nature of man's needs.
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RHYME SCHEME AND STRUCTURE
The Pulley is a poem of four stanzas of fives lines. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ababa
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MOOD AND TONE
The mood and tone of the poem is reflective. It is a reflection of the biblical creation story.
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Read also: VANITY by Birago Diop

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