# If I Were a Monk, and Thou Wert a Nun explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by George MacDonald.

## What happens

The speaker imagines a life of monastic seclusion shared with a beloved, contrasting the weary, joyless rituals of prayer and solitude with the warmth and love of human companionship. The poem ultimately affirms that earthly love and connection are a greater gift than a lonely path to heaven.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love as Ultimate Strength

The poem contrasts the cold, weary solitude of monastic life with the warmth and peace of mutual love, asserting that love is a better gift than a lonely path to heaven.

### Spiritual Struggle and Doubt

The speaker describes prayer as 'words, but hardly prayer' and the monastic routine as weary and lifeless, suggesting a crisis of faith and spiritual emptiness.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who imagines a monastic life and yearns for love and companionship.

### Lark

Mentioned as a symbol of freedom and joy, caged by the chapel's roof.

### Jesus Christ

Referenced as the crucified Best held over the dying beloved.

## Key lines

> Oh! is not a better thing to us given / Than wearily going alone to heaven?

Isn't it a greater gift to share life and love together than to journey to heaven in lonely weariness?

_The poem's concluding rhetorical question affirms the value of human love over solitary religious devotion._

> The chapel’s roof, like the law in stone, / Caging the lark that up had flown!

The chapel's roof is like a stone law that traps the lark that once soared freely.

_The image contrasts the freedom of nature and spirit with the oppressive constraints of religious institution._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/if-i-were-a-monk-and-thou-wert-a-nun
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