Write Critical Appreciation of the poem ‘The Pulley’ in a paragraph format.

‘The Pulley’ is a religious, metaphysical poem by George Herbert, a Welsh poet who was a priest by profession. It has four stanzas of five lines each and the rhyme scheme a b a b a. The poem explains the relationship between God and man through a secular, scientific image – the pulley. When God created man, He poured upon him all the world’s riches from His glass of blessings: strength, beauty, wisdom, honour and pleasure. But He held back ‘rest’, fearing that a contented man would adore the gifts instead of the Giver. So He let man keep the other gifts with ‘repining restlessness’, so that if goodness does not lead him to God, weariness will toss him to God’s breast. The poem is rich in figures of speech: pun (‘rest’), metaphor (‘this jewel’), paradox (‘rich and weary’), alliteration (‘repining restlessness’), inversion (‘So both should losers be’) and synecdoche (‘my breast’). The language is simple yet thought-provoking, and the tone is reflective and devotional; God’s words are presented as a monologue. My favourite line is “Let him be rich and weary”, as it explains why wealth alone does not bring happiness. I like the poem because it beautifully explains why human beings are never fully satisfied and why they turn to God.