# De Profundis explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by George MacDonald.

## What happens

A prayerful poem in which the speaker yearns for self-annihilation so that God may live in him, seeking release from the burden of life and the fear of death, and anticipating a resurrection where love and divine knowledge will triumph.

## Themes in this chapter

### Spiritual Struggle and Doubt

The speaker wrestles with the 'cark of living' and the fear of death, pleading for mercy and deliverance from his own mortal limitations.

### Redemption and Grace

The poem envisions being 'ransomed' and becoming a 'buried temple of the Lord' that will grow and break free, culminating in the knowledge of God as Father.

## Character check-ins

### God

Addressed as 'O Father' and 'thee'; the speaker desires God to live in him and to know God as his father.

### Unknown

The speaker who prays for self-renunciation and resurrection from the 'coffin' of mortal life.

### Death

Personified as an adversary; the speaker struggles with 'hourly strife with death' and longs to break free from the 'coffin strait and dark.'

## Key lines

> When I am dead unto myself, and let, O Father, thee live on in me, Contented to do nought but pay my debt, And leave the house to thee, Then shall I be thy ransomed⁠—from the cark Of living, from the strain for breath, From tossing in my coffin strait and dark, At hourly strife with death!

When I cease to live for myself and allow you, Father, to live in me, satisfied to simply fulfill my obligations and surrender my life to you, then I will be redeemed from the burdens of existence, the struggle for breath, and the constant battle with death in my narrow, dark coffin.

_The speaker expresses a desire for self-renunciation so that God may dwell in him, leading to deliverance from life's weariness and the fear of death._

> Have mercy! in my coffin! and awake! A buried temple of the Lord! Grow, Temple, grow! Heart, from thy cerements break! Stream out, O living Sword!

Have mercy on me while I am still in my coffin! Rouse me, a buried temple of the Lord! Expand, Temple, expand! Heart, tear free from your burial wrappings! Flow forth, O living Sword!

_The speaker implores God for resurrection, using the metaphor of a temple and a sword to symbolize spiritual awakening and liberation._

> When I am with thee as thou art with me, Life will be self-forgetting power; Love, ever conscious, buoyant, clear, and free, Will flame in darkest hour.

When I am united with you as you are already with me, life will become a force that forgets itself; love, always aware, light, pure, and unrestrained, will blaze even in the darkest times.

_The speaker anticipates a state of divine union where love becomes an enduring and illuminating presence._

> The body of this death will melt away, And I shall know as I am known; Know thee my father, every hour and day, As thou know'st me thine own!

This mortal body will dissolve, and I will understand as I am understood; I will recognize you as my father at every moment, just as you recognize me as your child.

_The poem concludes with a vision of eternal, mutual recognition between the speaker and God, transcending physical death._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/de-profundis
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters