Poetry · Chapter
The True explained
The speaker expresses envy for the tree-tops, clouds, and stars that seem close to heaven, but then renounces this envy, recognizing that such desires are mere dreams and fancies.
What happens
The speaker expresses envy for the tree-tops, clouds, and stars that seem close to heaven, but then renounces this envy, recognizing that such desires are mere dreams and fancies. Instead, the speaker redirects longing and prayers toward the true heaven of God's thought, rest, and love.
Themes in this chapter
Longing for Immortality
The speaker's envy of the tree-tops, clouds, and stars reflects a longing for the eternal and divine, culminating in a prayer for the true heaven.
Nature as Divine Revelation
The tree-tops, clouds, and stars are depicted as being filled with heavenly airs and sharing with angels, revealing the divine through the natural world.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“I envy the tree-tops that shake so high In winds that fill them full of heavenly airs”
I feel jealous of the treetops that sway high in the wind, which seems to fill them with divine breath.
The speaker's initial envy of nature's closeness to heaven.
“Draw me, O Lord, to thy true heaven above, The Heaven of thy Thought, thy Rest, thy Love.”
Pull me, Lord, toward your genuine heaven, which is the heaven of your mind, your peace, and your love.
The speaker's final prayer for true divine union.