Elizabeth Jennings's 1987 poem "In Praise of Creation" is a hymn to divine order in the natural world. Watching the lives and movements of birds, stars, and tigers, the poem's speaker sees reasons for faith in God woven all through the rhythms of nature. The mere way things are gives this speaker reason enough for believing in divinity. And part of being a believer, the poem suggests, is allowing oneself to be open: not just thinking things out, but also taking things in.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “In Praise of Creation”
The Full Text of “In Praise of Creation”
-
“In Praise of Creation” Summary
-
-
“In Praise of Creation” Themes
-
The Divinity of Nature
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “In Praise of Creation”
-
Lines 1-4
That one bird, ...
... Without ceremony testify. -
Lines 5-8
Testify to order, ...
... sometimes cut thinly. -
Lines 9-13
And the tiger ...
... passion, a scent, -
Lines 14-16
The world goes ...
... beats beyond reason. -
Lines 17-18
Then quiet and ...
... stared at here, -
Lines 19-20
The season sinks ...
... his mind ajar.
-
-
“In Praise of Creation” Symbols
-
The Moon and Stars
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 1: “one star,”
- Line 8: “the moon sometimes cut thinly.”
- Line 18: “The new moon waiting for years to be stared at here,”
-
The Tiger
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 2: “The one flash of the tiger’s eye”
- Lines 9-13: “And the tiger wrapped in the cage of his skin, / Watchful over creation, rests / For the blood to pound, the drums to begin, / Till the tigress’ shadow casts / A darkness over him, a passion, a scent,”
-
Birds
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 1: “one bird”
- Lines 6-8: “How the birds mate at one time only, / How the sky is, for a certain time, full / Of birds,”
- Line 17: “birds folding their wings,”
-
-
“In Praise of Creation” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 5: “Testify to,” “to”
- Line 12: “Till,” “tigress”
- Lines 14-15: “season / Sieves”
- Line 16: “blood beats beyond”
- Line 19: “season sinks,” “satisfied”
- Line 20: “Man,” “mind”
-
Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 2: “the tiger’s eye”
- Lines 9-13: “And the tiger wrapped in the cage of his skin, / Watchful over creation, rests / For the blood to pound, the drums to begin, / Till the tigress’ shadow casts / A darkness over him, a passion, a scent,”
-
Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “tiger’s eye”
- Line 3: “Purely assert”
- Line 6: “time”
- Line 7: “sky,” “time”
- Line 8: “sometimes”
- Line 11: “blood,” “drums”
- Line 12: “shadow casts”
- Line 13: “passion”
- Lines 14-15: “season / Sieves”
- Line 15: “earth,” “sure”
- Line 16: “beats beyond reason”
- Line 18: “new moon,” “years,” “here”
- Line 19: “sinks,” “things”
-
Asyndeton
Where asyndeton appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2
- Line 5
- Lines 6-8
- Line 11
- Line 13
- Lines 14-15
- Line 17
- Lines 18-19
-
Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “That one bird, one star, / The one flash”
- Line 4: “testify”
- Line 5: “Testify”
- Line 6: “birds,” “time”
- Line 7: “time”
- Line 8: “birds,” “moon,” “sometimes”
- Line 14: “The world goes turning, turning,”
- Line 17: “birds”
- Line 18: “moon”
-
Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “the tiger’s eye / Purely assert”
- Lines 7-8: “full / Of birds”
- Lines 10-11: “rests / For the blood to pound”
- Lines 14-15: “the season / Sieves earth”
-
Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Lines 9-10: “the tiger wrapped in the cage of his skin, / Watchful over creation,”
- Lines 10-13: “ rests / For the blood to pound, the drums to begin, / Till the tigress’ shadow casts / A darkness over him, a passion, a scent,”
- Lines 14-15: “the season / Sieves earth to its one sure element”
- Line 18: “The new moon waiting for years to be stared at here,”
-
Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 12: “tigress’ shadow casts”
- Line 13: “darkness,” “passion,” “scent”
- Lines 14-15: “season / Sieves”
- Line 15: “its,” “sure”
- Line 19: “season sinks,” “satisfied”
-
-
“In Praise of Creation” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Assert
- Testify
- Sieves
- New moon
- Ajar
-
(Location in poem: Lines 3-3: “Purely / what they are,”; Line 3: “assert”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “In Praise of Creation”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“In Praise of Creation” Speaker
-
-
“In Praise of Creation” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “In Praise of Creation”
-
-
More “In Praise of Creation” Resources
-
External Resources
-
A Brief Biography of the Poet — Learn more about Jennings at the Poetry Archive, which includes readings of some of her other poems.
-
A Reading of Another of Jennings's Poems — Dr. Iain McGilchrist reads "Answers," another poem by Jennings—with similar themes!
-
The Elizabeth Jennings Project — A scholarly website about Jennings, with more information on her life and work.
-
Another "Tyger" — An image of William Blake's "Tyger," an earlier poem. How might this tiger have inspired the tiger in Jennings's poem?
-
More of Jennings's Work — Links to a few more poems by Jennings.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Elizabeth Jennings
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
