The Altar

My interpretation of the poem was that of hope and finding solace in religion. The speaker in this poem, from what I, sees a broken altar and speaks of his plan to rebuild it. He describes the true determination and love that goes into building this altar and, with that, rebuilds his own faith. He then tells of the soul without faith their "heart alone/ Is such a stone," and with his rebuilding this altar, is restoring his own heart. The theme is certainly optimistic, hopeful and loving. After seeing something sacred destroyed, the speaker, with his faith in hand, rebuilds it and finds more love of God. He restores his faith and hopes to restore others.

1 comments:

  HelloGlo

September 10, 2008 at 7:34 PM

I wasn't able to make it out to class today, so I missed out on the discussion. However, I do appreciate that you posted some insight of what was discussed, especially that someone mentioned "a body being like a temple". I can see how that be tied in with the poem "The Altar", since most of my friends are Christian and they take their religious faith seriously. When reading the poem, I was able to compare the author with many individuals whom have a sacrificial love for God. It may be hard for some people to understand why other may act in extreme manners when practicing their faith, so I can see how the poem may be somewhat "tabooish" for some as well.