Conflict and Resolution in Herbert's Discipline George Herbert's struggle to be humble enough to fully accept God's undying love can be located in each of his poems. Herbert's way of conveying this conflict is through the use of structure as well as metaphysical techniques. This combination of literary devices creates a physical reality that allows Herbert, or the poetic speaker, to “make his feelings immediately present” (245). These devices, at first glance, seem artificial and contradictory with the poet's objective of making the word of God visible. Instead, literary techniques, for Herbert, help to emphasize how God controls everything, from everyday life to literature. Therefore, Herbert believes that he is not the sole author of his writings; rather, he is an instrument that God chose to write poetry praising him. Herbert fights against this idea because he must refuse the pride that comes from being the author of such beautiful devotional and metaphysical poetry. If Herbert gave in to this “temptation of success” (243), he would abandon himself to sin and thus reject the love of God. This process of rejection and acceptance, or "conflict and resolution" (243), unfolds throughout "The Temple," which leads Herbert to an ultimate acceptance of God and a "humbled character, of tenderness, of moral sensitivity" (249).Some of Herbert's struggles to achieve enlightenment can be seen in the poem "Discipline" in which the poetic speaker begs God to abandon his "wrath" (2) and , instead, to be more “gentle” (4) when judging man. The speaker wishes that God's punishments would be lessened. The speaker, who may well be Herbert, wants this because he fears that the "rod" (1) or "wrath" (2) of God will be imposed...... middle of paper . ..... tight, and symbolic of the unity that God can create. The structure of “Discipline” is exactly like this; it is neat, orderly and, like the title of the poem, disciplined. For example, the rhyme scheme remains the same throughout the poem. This discipline imitates the order that God creates in the world. Therefore, the poem is just one of God's many creations. “Discipline” therefore shows the struggles that both the poetic speaker and Herbert face when trying to understand God's love. These conflicts are humanized by Herbert's use of metaphysical devices. This humanization allows it to reach a wider audience because most people can relate to the conflict of understanding God's compassion. Thus, "discipline" is part of Herbert's and the speaker's process of accepting God, because one must experience both "conflict and resolution" in order to receive and understand God's love..