Sunday Morning Religion

When the woman starts to daydream, she imagines that her oranges and cockatoo become sacrificial gifts as part of a procession of spirits to visit Christ’s tomb. Christian themes in the poem are associated with silence, like the inside of a big, empty cathedral. She feels as though the day is inviting her to make a mental journey over the ocean to get to Palestine, where Jesus was buried. Overall, it’s a pretty intimidating vision.

This is her rebellion against Christian ideas of the supernatural and a God, or "divinity" which exists apart from humankind. No, she says, my own feelings and emotions are the only evidence for the divine. Do you think there is a valid point here, or is she just egotistical and focusing on herself?

Paganism is Christianity’s rival in the poem. It is the religion of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, who represent different things and events in nature. Jove is the god of the sky, the sun, and thunder and lightning. The poet thinks that ancient people came up with the gods to fill a need or "desire" that they had to explain nature.

Did you think an "orgy" had something to do with sex? Well, sometimes it does, but it’s also a general word to refer to pagan religious rituals. These rituals often involved singing, dancing, drinking, and, sometimes, sex. We don’t think this one is very sexual, though – well, except for the fact that the men are naked. Anyway, the pagan orgy is a way of celebrating nature, just as going to church for Christians is a way of celebrating God.

In the final stanza, the woman hears a voice that says that Christ’s tomb is not a place where ghosts and supernatural spirits hang out – it’s just the grave of a guy named Jesus. Essentially, she’s imagining that the tomb in Palestine is a part of nature, like any other tomb, and not a special place outside of nature. Should we read this as her turning away from the Christian religion?