George and Henry Herbert on Redemption

Abstract

George Herbert's dramatic sonnet Redemption tells a story with apparent chronological difficulties. The poet styles himself as a tenant who wishes to cancel his lease for a new, cheaper one. Seeking his Lord, he goes to heaven to inquire about renegotiation, but is there informed that the Lord has lately left to see about some which he had long since on earth. The speaker then returns to earth and unsuccessfully seeks his Lord in what seem appropriate places for one of high birth. Eventually, the speaker finds his Lord in the person of Christ, at the moment of the crucifixion. Christ grants the speaker's petition even before it is spoken, and dies. In terms of chronology the reader must reconcile Herbert's first-person story with the prior historical date of the crucifixion, and must also account for the disparity between the Lord's taking possession of his land only at the time of the crucifixion, even though he had dearly bought it long since:

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