Poetry Day 1

George Herbert's poem Denial uses repetition to provide an explanation for the speaker's denial. The poem walks the reader through the process that leads the speaker to such rejection of personal issues. At first, the speaker seems willing to confront his problems, but the tone of the piece as a whole becomes increasingly hopeless as the poem progresses. In the last lines of the third and fourth stanzas, Herbert includes, "But no hearing," to display that the speaker tried to face his issues before falling into denial. The speaker was seeking relief from the chaos of his thoughts but was unsuccessful in his endeavor. It became easier to ignore his broken spirit, and so denial was introduced. Herbert's use of repetition highlights the turning point in the poem, displaying the transition from desperation to hopelessness.