Point of View

"The Altar" is told from the first-person perspective of a speaker who addresses God directly. This point of view is a common one for Herbert, as well as many other metaphysical and devotional poets. It is emblematic of the devotional genre, which denotes poems meant to praise and celebrate God. However, it is also emblematic of a distinctly Protestant agenda. Herbert was a member of the Church of England, which separated from the Catholic Church in 1534 when King Henry VIII sought an annulment from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The split generated a rift in English Christian worship for centuries to come, and many early modern poets express their sympathies toward one particular denomination in their poetry. When first-person speakers speak directly to God in poems, they are often embodying the Protestant notion that each individual has a personal and unique relationship with God...