Selected Poem - 'Joseph's Coat'

Although this one of George Herbert’s shorter poems, it is still rich in his characteristic imagery and themes. Here we find musical references (which bookend the poem) and meditation on the sorrows and joys which are woven into the tapestry of human life.

Joseph's Coat

Wounded I sing, tormented I indite,
Thrown down I fall into a bed, and rest:
Sorrow hath chang’d its note: such is his will,
Who changeth all things, as him pleaseth best.
For well he knows, if but one grief and smart
Among my many had his full career,
Sure it would carrie with it ev’n my heart,
And both would runne untill they found a biere
To fetch the bodie; both being due to grief.
But he hath spoil’d the race; and giv’n to anguish
One of Joyes coats, ticing it with relief
To linger in me, and together languish.
I live to shew his power, who once did bring
My joyes to weep, and now my griefs to sing.

Commentary

As so often with Herbert, the title seems at first to have only a passing and oblique touchstone within the poem itself. In Genesis 37, Joseph was given by his elderly father a coat of many colours, as an expression of deep paternal love. But the imagery provokes deeper meanings, of flesh clothing the incarnate and redeeming Christ, turning grief and anguish to joy and bringing true relief.

A new year can bring renewed optimism and resolve to many, but uncertainty to others. The poem calls to mind ‘How Can I Keep from Singing?’, the hymn of 19th century American Baptist minister Robert Lowry:

My life flows on in endless song,
Above earth’s lamentation.
I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.

No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Love is Lord of heav’n and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

 

Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?

In form, Herbert's poem is almost a sonnet. It does have 14 lines, but the indentation is unusual and there is what appears to be a deliberate avoidance of rhyme at the end of line 3, which has occasioned much critical comment. One 19th century editor sctually changed 'will' to 'right' to correct the rhyme!

The opening words of this poem ('Wounded I sing') clearly made an impression on Richard Harries, the renowned spiritual writer and former Bishop of Oxford. He used it as the title of an Advent journey of poignant, contemporary reflections on selected Herbert poems (SPCK, 2024). This thoughtful little volume comes strongly recommended – and at any time of year.

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