Song VII Humility Quotes

In the first two lines of the poem, the speaker suggests that poetry that reflects humility is better than poetry that's vain and full of itself. His song has no "pride"; it's a simple song using simple words. The metaphors of "adornments" and "dress and decoration" suggest poetic vanity. And poetic vanity just ain't good, according to this speaker.

The speaker says here that he is humbled before sight of the divine. God is so much better than the speaker is, and so much of a better poet than the speaker is, that the speaker's vanity "dies" when he compares himself to God.

This image of the speaker "[sitting] down" at God's feet also gives us a sense of the poet's humility. The speaker is like a disciple, or a student of God's. He's so far beneath God that he can only sit "at [his] feet."