The Speaker

The central character of the poem is the unnamed speaker. It is easy to identify the speaker with Herbert, since Herbert was a priest and the poem's central concerns are religious ones, but it is, as always, important to understand the distinction between the poet and the speaker. Although readers cannot draw conclusions about Herbert from the text of the poem, a great deal is revealed about the character of the speaker.

The speaker is obviously an insightful and thoughtful person, based on how he reflects on his experience with religion. He is also evidently capable of deep feeling. Through most of the poem, he is entirely caught up in feelings of anger and despair. He does not reveal details of what has led him to this place, but focuses primarily on the emotional experience in which he is caught. The speaker can be thought of as...