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What’s Up With the Title?

So why Easter? Sure, it's a holiday about dying eggs and eating your weight in those special-edition pastel-colored M&Ms. But for Christians it's really a celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead, which gives us the chance to overcome sin by believing in him and becoming like him. According to Christianity, Christ's sacrifice lifts us out of sin and sadness like a pair of wings.

Not only do wings give the poem its physical shape; they also contribute to Herbert's dominant imagery of repentance. Christ's resurrection on Easter morning means that he rises from the dead. In describing how he'll rise with Christ, Herbert compares himself to birds that use wings to fly to the happiness of heaven.