The Altar by George Hebert is a poem written in a form of poetry known as concrete poetry or pattern/form poetry. As such, the formation of the typography informs the idea of ​​the poem, and conversely, the idea further builds or enhances the image created by the typography. The Altar, for example, is shaped like an altar. The image of the words adds value to the impact of the poem. Measuring poetic impact, however, is not as simple as creating a poem that has the shape/image of whatever that poem is describing or addressing. While the form of the Altar is crucial to the metaphysical conception of the poem, Herbert's use of meter and rhythm, rhyme, capitalization, and wordplay have equal value in conveying each poem's specific message . What follows is an analysis of the visual elements and poetic elements and their importance in gaining a greater understanding of the metaphysical conception of the Altar. The Altar is a prayer set within a metaphysical poem. The speaker of the poem offers himself to the Lord, presumably at an altar, as indicated by the title and form of the poem. The poem's first couplet states, "A broken ALTAR, the Lord, thy servant erect / Made of heart and cemented by tears" (1-2). The poem states that the altar is broken, however, since this poem is metaphysical, it is safe to assume that the speaker's heart is also broken. The altar is not literally made up of the speaker's heart but the two objects are symbolically interchangeable. Stating that the altar is “made of the heart” and “cemented with tears” is textual evidence that verifies the speaker's heartbreak with respect to the altar, and thus reveals the metaphysical conceit at work within the poem. .... in the center of the paper ...... highlights the importance of being broken and the role it plays in leading the speaker back to the Lord. The visual elements of the poem continually reinforce the metaphysical conceit the reader of the poem reads. How does Hebert use conventional poetic devices to reinforce metaphysical conceit? Meter and rhythm are the first and main examples. The reason for this, without completely abandoning the visual aspect, is that to create the image of an altar the poet must use different meters. To obtain the image of the altar Hebert uses the iamb but does so with several different couplets: a pentameter couplet, a tetrameter couplet, three dimetric couplets, returning to a tetrameter couplet and, lastly, pentameter. As you can see, literally, the use of descending and then ascending meter helps to get the visual image of the altar.