Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Jorge Luis Borges' poem "Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)" offers a meditative and somewhat unsettling portrayal of the famous American theologian and preacher, Jonathan Edwards. Known for his fire-and-brimstone sermons, particularly "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards was a central figure in the Great Awakening, a religious revival movement in colonial America. Borges explores Edwards’ theological worldview, emphasizing the stark dichotomies of his beliefs and the profound, almost mystical, vision that underpinned his understanding of existence.

The poem opens by placing Edwards "Far from the Common, far from the loud / City and from time, which is change." This immediately sets Edwards apart from the ordinary world, suggesting that he exists in a state removed from the mundane concerns of everyday life and the relentless flow of time. Edwards is portrayed as someone who dreams in an "eternal now," a phrase that suggests a transcendence of temporal boundaries. In this state, Edwards is immersed in a spiritual reality that exists beyond the past, present, and future—a timeless dimension where everything is interconnected and simultaneous: "Today / Is tomorrow and yesterday."

Borges then describes how Edwards perceives the world around him: "Not one / Thing of God’s in the motionless world / Fails to exalt him strangely—the gold / Of the evening, or of the moon." In Edwards' view, every element of the natural world is imbued with divine significance, each thing reflecting the glory of God. The "motionless world" evokes a sense of stillness and eternity, where time does not move forward in the usual way. The use of "gold" to describe both the evening and the moon reinforces the idea of a luminous, almost sacred quality in the natural world, which continuously uplifts and exalts Edwards in ways that are both profound and mysterious.

Despite this seemingly serene vision, the poem quickly delves into the darker aspects of Edwards' theology: "Content, he knows the world is an eternal / Vessel of wrath and that the coveted / Heaven was created for a few / And Hell for almost all." Borges captures the harsh Calvinist doctrine that Edwards espoused, which held that only a select few were predestined for salvation, while the vast majority were doomed to eternal damnation. This belief in the predestined nature of salvation and damnation is central to Edwards' worldview, and Borges presents it starkly, underscoring the severity of this outlook.

The poem's final lines introduce a startling and profound metaphor: "Exactly / In the center of the web there is / Another prisoner, God, the Spider." This image of God as a spider at the center of a web is rich with meaning. The web suggests the intricate and inescapable design of the universe, a network of fate and predestination that ensnares all within it. The idea of God as a "prisoner" in this web adds a layer of complexity, implying that even God is bound by the strictures of the divine plan, unable to alter the predestined outcomes. This portrayal challenges the traditional image of an omnipotent, free God, instead presenting a deity who is, in some sense, constrained by the very order He has created.

Borges' "Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)" thus offers a deeply layered interpretation of Edwards' theology, blending the awe-inspiring with the terrifying. The poem reflects on the rigidity of a worldview that sees the world as a "vessel of wrath," where salvation is scarce and damnation is the norm. Yet, it also evokes the beauty and mystery of a universe where everything reflects the divine, even as it is governed by an inexorable fate. The final image of God as a spider at the center of this web encapsulates the tension between divine omnipotence and the constraints of predestination, leaving the reader with a haunting vision of a universe both glorious and terrifying in its design.

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