Anna Chiprean

Finney 3

September 19, 2016

Honors Religion 11

Sacramentality in Literature

The poem Marginal Note by James McAuley uses powerful imagery to describe the

wonder of Gods grace. Grace is defined as the freely given unmerited favor and love of God

(2). Grace can also be further interpreted as the influence on spirt of God operating in humans

to strengthen them (2). McAuley uses the symbolism of light rays to portray the sometimes

invisible yet always present grace of God.

I chose this poem because the symbolism fascinated me. I had been learning about the

use of symbolism in my English class. I was pleased to find a poem that used symbolism within

each stanza. I am drawn to poems that paint pictures with words and this poems image of grace

as light made a beautiful impression on me. I particularly liked how he explained that we dont

have to fully understand grace to be blessed by its presence.

McAuley illustrates the sacramentality of the concept of grace throughout his poem by

using the symbolism of light; light is something we both see and experience every day. Choosing

light as the way to illustrate grace is masterful because we do not have to understand the science

of light to enjoy its benefits. Grace is very similar to light rays in that we do not fully understand

grace, yet we can experience it and be blessed by it. The title of his poem alludes to the border
between that exists between the physical world and the spiritual realm. I think grace is the Note

that connects humans with God.

The first stanza draws a picture of a ray of light which is not seen until it shines into the

dark. Once the light shines into darkness it illuminates objects and allows them to be visible to

the eye. McAuley is explaining to the reader that although grace is invisible the presence of God

is everywhere. Grace is experienced, or made visible to the soul filling the soul with Gods

strength and presence. I like to think of grace as Gods flashlight which shines its light on my

soul and casts out the shadows of sin and doubt. In the third line of the first stanza, McAuley

refers to a turbid element which symbolically represents the evil in the world or the darkness

within a persons soul.

The second stanza describes how people are incapable of perfectly understanding the true

power of Gods grace. The second line in the second stanza states so poetry that moves by

chance collision which beautifully expresses those moments when we glimpse the wonder of

God. The third and fourth lines in stanza two use the imagery of scattering light that sometimes

blinds us to describe what it is like when our eyes are truly open to the magnificence of God.

The third and final stanza describes the piece of a persons soul when they experience the

wonder of grace. The poet likens this experience to the purest meditation or a deep and quiet

contemplation. The last to lines of this stanza reiterate that grace is not fully visible to those who

are not attentive to God. Interestingly, McAuley chooses to end the poem with a semicolon. I

think he purposely ended the poem in this manner to represent that we can connect ourselves to

grace just as a semicolon connects two distinct ideas.

 I think McAuleys message to us is to believe that grace surrounds us even if we cannot

see it. This poem serves as a reminder to keep our hearts open to God so that we can fully

receive divine grace. In conclusion I believe that the poet is challenging us achieve a perfect

meditation by calming our hearts through contemplative prayer.

 Poem

A ray of light, to an oblique observer,

Remains invisible in pure dry air;

But shone into a turbid element

It throws distracting side-gleams everywhere

And is diminished by what takes the eye.

So poetry that moves by chance collision

Scatters its brightness at each random mote

And mars the lucid order of its vision.

The purest meditation will appear

Faint or invisible to those who glance

Obliquely at its unreflected beam; (1)

Citations

1. James Phillip McAuley - Poem Hunter. "Marginal Note Poem." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

2. "The Definition of Grace." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.