God, let thy mighty heart beat into mine,
And let mine answer as a pulse to thine.
(loc. 227259-227260)

Within and Without was George MacDonald’s first published narrative poem. In five Acts, we hear the tragedy of Julian, a man who sought and struggled to find love and the divine. MacDonald doesn’t shy away from the big themes: love and death, fatherhood and murder all grip the reader.

I haven’t read enough narrative poetry to offer an informed critical evaluation. I do know that MacDonald’s rich theology of the incarnation is in full display when he reflects on God who “shone forth from all the lowly earth” so that we now “feel the holy mystery / That permeates all being: all is God’s” (loc. 228456–61).

There’s a beauty in MacDonald’s poetry in that it points beyond itself to the author of all poetry. It’s a beauty that doesn’t make absolute claims but recognizes its continegency.

Lily. Father, what is a poetry?
Julian. A beautiful thing, — of the most beautiful
That God has made.
Lily. As beautiful as mother?
Julian. No, my dear child; but very beautiful.
(loc. 228938–42)

MacDonald, George. Within and Without: A Dramatic Poem. 1855. In The Complete Works of George MacDonald. E-book ed., Delphi Classics, 2015. EPUB.