The Soul in Paraphrase

This is a book about poems. Not just any poem but classics that allows the soul great latitude to express the human soul. In a powerful foreword, Leland Ryken highlights some of the main features of "classic devotional poems." They are:

They take the religious life and experience as the subject;
They inform and influence the reader;
They make us think and reflect on the spiritual life;
They also connect us with both the common experience as humans as well as the spiritual experience as Christians;
Both form and content engage us;
There is beauty in both expression and experience;
They are multi-layered in quality which challenges us to keep unwrapping the gifts of poetry;

Despite poems being often seen as "timeless and universal," these selected poems are arranged in chronological order for our convenience. Pieces written in Old English are updated for our ease of understanding. They are not inspirational but devotional pieces. The former tends to benefit the self while the latter helps the reader to be mindful about honouring God and to grow toward being more like Christ. The pieces contrast with literature of unbelief that tend to deny the existence of God. The works in this book not only affirms God's Presence, they help us develop a fuller understanding of faith, worship, prayer, belief, humanity in Christ. Apart from that, the anthology not only deals with the content but also the form in which the content is communicated. This presents the reader an opportunity to enjoy the pieces in more ways than one. There is also the skills behind the literary art which exudes beauty for us to appreciate. More importantly, the beauty that we see more of God helps us also to see the beauty FROM the eyes of God. The hymns, poems, prayers are categorized broadly as follows:

Note the title, the author, and the period of writing
The poem is listed and updated for our reading
Some notes are included for explanation of the texts
Commentary by Ryken
Last nine chapters are brief "pairs of poems" based on a common theme

My Thoughts
First, it is crucial to take time to read each chapter. I must admit it takes some effort to move from prose to poetry. If we attempt to read it like an essay, we may be able to finish the brief pages in quick time but miss the literary aesthetics. Poem is a genre that requires frequent pauses to take in the meaning and insights of each word. The focus should not be to finish the book as fast as possible but to savour each word and sentence like sipping an expensive glass of wine. We smell the form and see the words. We examine the words and ponder about the subject. The "Sunset on Calvary" comprises just four sentences, yet, Lyken is able to cast lots of light on the simple yet profound words. It reminds me that there is beauty in simplicity. Simplicity is not just the economy of words, but the central focus to see a big idea from as many angles as possible.

Second, for starters, it might be helpful to read the poem quickly at first and re-read them after going through the commentary. With the author guiding the reader with key observations, background information, overview of the movement of thoughts, and so on, hopefully the reader can learn to read poetry with a better informed mind. It is an educational journey for me as well to be able to catch the insights of Lyken, an English Professor and how he reads the poem. I find the background information particularly helpful because it helps me connect the poem with the poet. For instance, many of William Shakespeare's works are composed by a deeply contemplative person. Shakespeare ponders upon his own mortality expresses it through Sonnet 73. His understanding of true love leads to the marriage sonnet 116. "Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom" is a re-statement of the common marriage vow: "Till death do us part."

Finally, I think one of the key things I take away is that I must replace the notion of right/wrong and replace it with appreciating what the authors try to say. In other words, seeking to know the 'what' of expression is the most important first step in reading the anthology of poems. Just like the way we do inductive bible studies, the first step is Observation before Interpretation. This interplay of artistry and scientific analysis is what makes reading poetry both refreshing and intriguing. It is a way which we devote our attention to God through the words that help us link our humanity with God's divinity.

Leland Ryken has served as Professor of English at Wheaton College for nearly 50 years. He has authored over 50 books and served as literary stylist for the English Standard Version.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

This book has two main strengths. First, Dr. Ryken has collected together wonderful examples of devotional poetry that are beautiful and edifying. Second, Dr. Ryken's commentary will help the reader evaluate other examples of devotional and common-experience poetry elsewhere. As an English major who studied many of these poems in college, both life experience and the commentary in the book made them much richer on this read-through.

My only wish was that more contemporary devotional poetry would have been included in the book.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

At the outset, Ryken makes clear that there are several ways to define devotional poems. Some may be focused on spiritual topics, others may be devotional because of how they affect the reader. “If a poem prompts us to think about God and spiritual truth, if it deepens our spiritual insight and experience, and if it awakens a greater love of God and desire to be like him, it has served a devotional purpose” (location 127).
For each poem included, he has a section that explains or defines certain words and then he explains what the poem means. Sometimes there is a little poetry lesson on cadence or some other poetical feature. I appreciated the wide range of poetry included. Besides clearly spiritual ones, he included some sonnets by Shakespeare and poems by John Donne that I wouldn’t have thought to include in a devotional poem book but that make sense to me there now.
I loved this sentence from a 14th century anonymous poet. “A child is born in the midst of man, and in that child there was no sin; that child is God, that child is man, and in that child our life began” (location 342).
I enjoyed reading a poem or two in the morning with my devotions. I often struggle to understand poetry so I appreciated the notes included. This book wouldn’t appeal to everyone. But if you’re like me and think you’d enjoy it if you just understood it, give this book a try. I’d recommend it.
Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.