Holiness is an Effort and a Half

        George Herbert brings to light the conflict of living a sin free life in his poem "Forerunners" by creating a troubling tone. Within the first lines of the poem, the speaker is weary that the "harbingers" are coming because he does not want them to decipher his mind. The harbingers are most likely messengers of God, possibly angels or saints, because they are dressed in white (which symbolizes innocence and holiness), and they have the ability to understand his thoughts. However the speaker says, "Yet have they left me," meaning he may have had impure thoughts, "Thou art still my God" (line 6), implying that God will show him forgiveness. In the middle of the play, the speaker talks about the brothels and the lovely metaphorical writing he must forfeit in order to lead a holy and honorable life in the eyes of God. The life that the speaker describes sounds very dull and tedious, so we then see a shift from what he should do to what he would like to do. We see a shift to a more sexual diction, and there emerges foolish lovers, beauties, and folly. The speaker says, "Yet if you go [(God)], I pass not; take your way" (line 31), where he begins to differentiate his actions from the actions expected from him by God. He does this because at the end of the day, the speaker believes that God will forgive him for the sins he commits. The final lines are, "Let a bleak paleness chalk the door, So all within be livelier then before." In this quote we can see the speaker's branching out of his religious followings and implying that life may be more enjoyable when we break a few of God's rules. The disparity between the opening and closing lines illuminates the conflicting tone of the poem because the speaker is struggling with his dedication to God versus his earthly enjoyment.