¶ The Sonne.
LEt forrain nations of their language boast, What fine varietie each tongue affords: I like our language, as our men and coast: Who cannot dresse it well, want wit, not words. How neatly doe we give one onely name To parents issue and the sunnes bright starre! A sonne is light and fruit; a fruitfull flame Chasing the fathers dimnesse, carrid farre From the first man in th East, to fresh and new Western discovries of posteritie. So in one word our Lords humilitie We turn upon him in a sense most true: For what Christ once in humblenesse began, We him in glorie call, The Sonne of Man. |
General note on puns: In modern usage all puns are humorous, or are supposed to be funny. Before the Eighteenth Century, which was also before standardized spelling, puns were a way of uniting 2 ideas with one set of sounds. In the Bible, God used puns to communicate meaning in visions. See Jeremiah 1:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree {shaw-kade}. 12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten {shaw-kad} my word to perform it. ["almond" and "hasten/awaken" have the same 3 consonants and are puns in Hebrew.] The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769. [If you still believe that all puns are humorous, then you also believe that God has a sense of humor - beside creating mankind.] Also see another of Herberts puns on sun or an oblique reference in "Easter," and John Donne, "A Hymn to God the Father" for a serious use of puns [done and Donne].
The Poem Index has a listing for Sun as an image in George Herberts poetry. Note on English Sonnet form and organization. |
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1633 Poem Index | George Herbert & The Temple Home Page |