Altar poem
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An altar poem is a pattern poem in which the lines are arranged to look like the form of an altar. The text and shape relate to each other, the latter usually giving added meaning to the poem itself.
The altar poem (Carmen XXVI) by Optatianus
The 17th century text of George Herbert's "The Altar"
George Herbert
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George Herbert was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost Brit
Altar poem
…various aspects of the poem recommended to the king. Most modern commentaries reflect on how altar poems of the period relate to the best known example, George Herbert's "The Altar" (1633). An earlier anonymous example in Francis Davison's Poetical Rhapsody (1602), the address of a rejected lover, approximates the…
Portrait by Robert White, 1674 (National Portrait Gallery)
The Herbert niche, Salisbury Cathedral
Herbert's The Temple
St Andrew's Church in Bemerton, Wiltshire, where Herbert served as rector and in which he was buried