"The Elixir"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the poem "The Elixir" by George Herbert. The paper demonstrates how the poem's title is deceptive, since it suggests that the poem will have an intoxicating subject. However, the poem's topic is theological. The paper explains that the title is actually derived from the name for the medieval science of alchemy. It further shows that science serves as a metaphor for finding the right way of belief and mental readiness to approach one's daily tasks. The paper cites versus from the poem to support its thesis that with this 'right' mode of belief, even the most common servant can elevate all of his experiences and duties to the realm holy.

From the Paper:

"The poet thus wishes to proceed through life so that simply seeing a neighbor on the street and smiling to that neighbor becomes a divine act, because the poet sees the divine presence in his neighbor's face. Herbert makes a distinction between human and animal life and consciousness, setting humanity above mere and base nature as he begs to act, "Not rudely, as a beast, /To run into an action;" in other words, to go about action with base thoughts and feelings. Rather, "But still to make Thee prepossest, /And give it his perfection," in other words, to make perfect all Herbert does on a daily basis. Unlike beasts, humans have rational thought and God-crafted souls. Thus, Herbert wishes to use this ability to think rationally about God when in motion, so his daily motions are not the motions of a beast."

More papers on "The Elixir":

• Analytical Essay # 133232 : "Paulo Coehlo's "The Alchemist"
• Book Review # 120075 : "Georgiana's Transformation in "The Birthmark"
• Term Paper # 142623 : "Changing Families In America"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: