Discipleship Misunderstanding and Johannine Irony in the Poetry of George Herbert and Henry Vaughan

The sixth chapter takes a closer look at the influence of Johannine discipleship misunderstanding (particularly the Johannine rhetoric of dramatic irony) on the poetry of George Herbert and Henry Vaughan. Through close readings of Herbert’s “The Bag,” “The Bunch of Grapes,” and “Love unknown,” as well as Vaughan’s “The Night,” the chapter argues that both poets rely on Johannine-inspired dramatic irony in order to express some of the key features of Johannine devotion, especially a high Christology that glorifies rather than abases Jesus. In most cases, especially in Herbert’s poetry, dramatic irony leads not to instability or paradox but to a clarification and heightened understanding of some of the deepest mysteries of Johannine Christology.