Representative Poetry Online
  Poet Index Poem Index Random Search
  Introduction Timeline Calendar Glossary Criticism Bibliography
  RPO Canadian Poetry UTEL
by Name
by Date
by Title
by First Line
by Last Line
Poet
Poem
Short poem
Keyword
Concordance

George Herbert (1593-1633)

Sin (I)


              1Lord, with what care hast thou begirt us round!
              2      Parents first season us; then schoolmasters
              3      Deliver us to laws; they send us bound
              4To rules of reason, holy messengers,
              5Pulpits and Sundays, sorrow-dogging sin,
              6      Afflictions sorted, anguish of all sizes,
              7      Fine nets and stratagems to catch us in,
              8Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,
              9Blessings beforehand, ties of gratefulness,
            10      The sound of glory ringing in our ears,
            11      Without, our shame, within, our consciences,
            12Angels and grace, eternal hopes and fears.
            13      Yet all these fences and their whole array
            14      One cunning bosom-sin blows quite away.

Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.

Original text: George Herbert, The temple. Sacred poems and private ejaculations, edited by N. Ferrar (Cambridge: T. Buck and R. Daniel, 1633). STC 13183. Facs. edn. Menston: Scolar Press, 1968. PR 3507 T45 1633A. Also The Bodleian Manuscript of George Herbert's Poems: A Facsimile of Tanner 307, Introduced by Amy M. Charles and Mario A. Di Cesare. Delmar: Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints, 1984. PR 3507 T45 1984 ROBA.
First publication date: 1633
RPO poem editor: N. J. Endicott
RP edition: 3RP 1.208.
Recent editing: 2:2002/2/13

Form: sonnet
Rhyme: ababcdcdefefgg

Other poems by George Herbert

Your comments and questions are welcomed.
All contents copyright © Ian Lancashire (Department of English) and the University of Toronto
RPO is hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries.