Faith Healing
Slowly the women file to where he stands
Upright in rimless glasses, silver hair,
Dark suit, white collar. Stewards tirelessly
Persuade them onwards to his voice and hands,
Within whose warm spring rain of loving care,
Each dwells some twenty seconds. Now, dear child,
What’s wrong, the deep American voice demands,
And, scarcely pausing, goes into a prayer
Directing God about this eye, that knee.
Their heads are clasped abruptly; then, exiled,
Like losing thoughts, they go in silence; some
Sheepishly stray, not back into their lives
Just yet; but some stay stiff, twitching and loud
With deep hoarse tears, as if a kind of dumb
And idiot child within them still survives
To re‑awake at kindness, thinking a voice
At last calls them alone, that hands have come
To lift and lighten; and such joy arrives
Their thick tongues blort, their eyes squeeze grief, a crowd
Of huge unheard answers jam and rejoice.
What’s wrong! Moustached in flowered frocks they shake:
By now, all’s wrong. In everyone there sleeps
A sense of life lived according to love.
To some it means the difference they could make
By loving others, but across most it sweeps
As all they might have done had they been loved.
That nothing cures. An immense slackening ache,
As when, thawing, the rigid landscape weeps,
Spreads slowly through them—that, and the voice above
Saying Dear child, and all time has disproved.
Summary of Faith Healing
- Central Idea: The poem portrays a faith‑healing ceremony, observing the hopes and disappointments of those seeking solace. It does not critique faith itself but exposes the limits of any attempt to fully alleviate suffering, suggesting that even in moments of perceived grace a deeper ache often remains.
- Human Nature: It explores the human longing for relief from pain, both physical and emotional, highlighting our susceptibility to hope even in the face of skepticism and the powerful effect of suggestion and belief.
- Major Themes: Key themes include the desire for healing, the limits of faith, the inevitability of suffering, and the complex relationship between hope and disappointment. The poem subtly examines the psychological needs that drive people to seek miraculous cures.
Analysis of Literary Devices in Faith Healing
The poet uses a range of literary devices to deepen the poem’s exploration of these themes. These techniques enhance the poem’s emotional impact and intellectual complexity.
- Allusion: The “deep American voice” evokes televised faith healers, grounding the poem in a familiar cultural context. It is about the spectacle and performance of healing.
- Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds, such as the short ‘e’ in “Each dwells some twenty seconds,” creates a musicality that subtly mimics the rhythmic cadence of prayer or chanting.
- Consonance: Hard consonant sounds, for example in “Their thick tongues blort,” underscore the harsh reality beneath the surface of hope, producing a jarring effect that reflects discomfort.
- Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line to the next, as in “Their heads are clasped abruptly; then, exiled / Like losing thoughts,” creates momentum and mimics the continuous flow of expectation and disappointment.
- Hyperbole: The image of a “crowd of huge unheard answers” exaggerates the emotional weight carried by each participant, suggesting the overwhelming nature of their unspoken hopes and fears.
- Imagery: Phrases like “warm spring rain of loving care” present a comforting, almost idyllic picture that is deliberately juxtaposed with the poem’s underlying skepticism, heightening the sense of disillusionment.
- Irony: The healer’s question, “What’s wrong?” is met not with clear answers but with confusion and silence, highlighting the gap between expectation and reality. The question itself feels almost perfunctory.
- Metaphor: Comparing the “slackening ache” to a thawing landscape illustrates how pain does not simply disappear but transforms and spreads, becoming something more diffuse.
- Personification: Giving abstract concepts human qualities, such as love guiding actions (“As all they might have done had they been loved”), suggests the potential power of connection and empathy.
Analysis of Poetic Devices in Faith Healing
Beyond individual literary devices, the poem’s structure and diction contribute significantly to its overall meaning.
- Diction: The deliberate choice of words, such as “persuade” and “hoarse tears,” creates a subtly skeptical tone. The poet avoids overtly judgmental language, allowing the scene to speak for itself.
- End Rhyme & Rhyme Scheme: While the poem does not follow a strict rhyme scheme, occasional unexpected rhymes add a subtle musicality that reflects the spontaneous, unpredictable nature of faith practices.
- Meter: Variations in line length produce an uneven rhythm that mirrors the emotional ebb and flow of the crowd’s collective hope and doubt.
- Poem Type & Stanza: The poem is written in free verse with no regular stanzas. This form reflects the open‑ended and complex experience of faith healing.
- Tone: The poet maintains a detached, observational tone throughout. He does not explicitly condemn or endorse faith healing but presents a nuanced and realistic portrayal of the event.
Interpretation: How Each Part Contributes to the Central Message
- The opening stanza sets the scene, presenting the healer as a charismatic, almost theatrical figure surrounded by eager participants. The description of “warm spring rain” initially invites readers into an atmosphere of comfort, but this comfort is quickly tempered by a sense of manipulation.
- The second stanza reveals the inner turmoil of the attendees. Their tears, silence, and twitching movements expose the fragility behind their outward faith, demonstrating how hope can mask deep‑seeded pain and vulnerability.
- The final stanza delivers the poem’s somber resolution: even when love is imagined as a guiding force, it cannot erase suffering. The repeated refrain “What’s wrong!” becomes an echo of unmet expectations, while the concluding line emphasizes the futility of seeking complete cures.
Key Quote for Reflection
An immense slackening ache,
as when, thawing, the rigid landscape weeps.
This powerful line encapsulates the poem’s core idea that pain does not simply vanish but transforms and spreads, much like a landscape melting under spring heat. It reminds readers that healing is rarely immediate or complete, echoing the poet’s sober and realistic view of faith, hope, and the enduring nature of human suffering.