Easter Wings
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Easter Wings is a poem by George Herbert which was published in his posthumous collection, The Temple. It was originally formatted sideways on facing pages and is in the tradition of shaped poems that
"Easter Wings" in the 1633 edition of The Temple
A copy of the manuscript written for presentation to the Cambridge University press in 1633
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.
Easter Wings
…publication, making the likeness to two sets of wings more obvious. Another pattern poem appearing near the start of his collection, The Temple, was "The Altar". There were three other poems in the shape of wings published later than Herbert's. One may have been written about the same time, but as in Herbert's…
The altar poem (Carmen XXVI) by Optatianus
The 17th century text of George Herbert's "The Altar"