English Literature. George Herbert "Time"

MEeting with Time, slack thing, said I,

Thy sithe is dull; whet it for shame.

No marvell Sir, he did replie,

If it at length deserve some blame:

     But where one man would have me grinde it,

     Twentie for one too sharp do finde it.



Perhaps some such of old did passe,

Who above all things lov’d this life:

To whom thy sithe a hatchet was,

Which now is but a pruning knife.

     Christs coming hath made man thy debter,

     Since by thy cutting he grows better.



And in his blessing thou art blest:

For where thou onely wert before

An executioner at best;

Thou art a gard’ner now, and more,

     An usher to convey our souls

     Beyond the utmost starres and poles.



And this is that makes life so long,

While it detains us from our God.

Ev’n pleasures here increase the wrong,

And length of dayes lengthen the rod.

     Who wants the place, where God doth dwell,

     Partakes already half of hell.



Of what strange length must that needs be,

Which ev’n eternitie excludes!

Thus farre Time heard me patiently:

Then chafing said, This man deludes:

     What do I here before his doore?

     He doth not crave lesse time, but more.







Time is unique, transcendent, transparent,  sense of caesura. At the beginning of the poem the author meets with the time. There is also meeting with death. Death is a symbol of mortality, the marker of passing time, which in mortal life has its limits, and ends. Time passes by and indicates the end of Our life, it is sad moment, though, it proves that there is nothing immortal, but, time itself, it never ends, and passes by eventually, century after century. 

One life and but another will begin, repetitively, time will mark a new life and starts journey, journey through years of happiness and disappointments, till death which is symbolized by scythe. The Kingdom of the Christ in the poem is compared to big Garden. In the poem, the Death is continually looking for new victims, sinners, weakened to be taken away. 

In the poem we feel and notice the shape of conversation and a dialogue,  it is led between the Man and the Death.The conversation is not an easy one, it is about time and human life, time is so complex, one would discuss it limitless endlessly, tough, human life is a set of ups and downs, it is a subject for a book or two, nonetheless, at the end of the poem, life is compared to hell, the life led by humans is selfish, empty, ruthless, People make Our life Hell. 

The instruments of everyday life are ubiquitous, like the Bible, the poem preaches and teaches, represents a theological speech.  

The God is a guard, He guards our souls, as well as, Death.