The Poetry of Piety: An Anotated Anthology of Christian Poetry

By Ben Witherington III

Poetry has long been an elegant, effective means of expression and reflection. It is no surprise, then, that many Christians have used this medium to express the profound joys and struggles they have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080102286X
• ISBN13: 9780801022869
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.5" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Literary as well as Religious, Poems of Piety....

More than religious sentiment or drift, these poems express genuine piety, a sense of God and Christian belief. Titled, "The Poetry of Piety: An Annotated Anthology of Christian Poetry," take the paperback book by what it's worth: a book that "...offers both expert literary and theological analysis of a wide range of Christian poetry..." that is an excellent addition to a personal library. As someone interested in the pious sensibility, and in poetry, I find the work complete though short since the Baker Academic book categorized as literature and the arts encompasses only 28 poets. But that is enough for intellectual depth and illuminating poetry. Ben Witherington III and Christopher Mead Armitage have done a fine job of finding work that shows piety. Let's have a starting point for what is pious. This quote on Biblical poetry and its piety from The Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite for computer: "There is poetry of the first rank, devotional poetry in the Psalms, and erotic poetry in the Song of Songs. Lamentations is a poetic elegy, mourning over fallen Jerusalem. Job is dramatic theological dialogue. The books of the great prophets consist mainly of oral addresses in poetic form." These are illuminated writings inspired by the Holy Ghost and written by holy men. In this sense, the poems selected in "The Poetry of Piety" also reveal a deep attachment, affection and desire for God in the Christian sense by the poets comprising this 172-page book. You may recognize some of the writers. T.S. Eliot, the modernist, C.S. Lewis, from the 20th Century also, John Updike, and others like John Henry Newman, John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, William Blake, are a few represented in the title. I could go on with more names like Richard Wilbur and Robert Herrick. You as a reader won't be sorry to get to read these poets. The analysis of the poetry is thoughtful, interesting, and revealing. In George Herbert's poem, "The Collar," the analysis notes, "...he recognizes his petulant and irrational actions, and his tirade is interrupted by a voice uttering the potent monosyllable, `Child!' The uncertainty of `Methoughts I heard one calling' leaves open whether God utters the word or whether the speaker is checked from within. In any case, the admonition and expression of paternal concern lead him to acknowledge his heavenly Father with the last two words of the poem." There is a great deal of thought in these analyses in this book, and the reader has room to reflect. Some poems are like a dialogue with self and self, self and God, as is this poem from the period 16th to 17th century. Perhaps you have heard of the American poet T.S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi." A pious poem, certainly, and entertaining as well. Even the beginning is strong and engaging in a modern way of sensibility. Right to the point it reads: "'A cold coming we had of it,/Just the worst time of the year/For a journey, and such a long journey...'" Right away the read

Excellent Study

This is an excellent study, but it only includes 28 chapters, with one poem per chapter. Also, it leaves out such critical Christian poets as Chaucer and Milton. Aside from that, it goes into deep discussion and even has thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter.