The relationship between humans and God
Much of the speaker’s pain and sorrow come from his misunderstanding of his relationship to God. At the beginning of the poem, he expects God to reward him for his service. He thinks devoting himself to religion will free him from sickness and sadness. When he gets sick and sad anyway, he begins to blame God for tricking him. The poem implies that the speaker’s “affliction” partly comes from his fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between humans and God. According to the poem’s Christian worldview, people should not expect to be rewarded for devoting themselves to God. In fact, devotees can have miserable lives and they still should not question God. At the same time, the poem shows how difficult this relationship can be. Even in the last three lines, the speaker is wondering whether he can find something else to devote himself to instead of God.
Secular versus religious life
The poem frequently contrasts worldly ambition (the desire for success and recognition) with spiritual dedication (a religious life). At first, the speaker thinks dedication to God will bring him all sorts of material things. When he realizes that this is incorrect, he blames God for making him live as a priest or academic (”in a gown”) rather than pursuing a public life, perhaps in politics (”the town”).
Aside from a religious stand-point, this poem could be seen as one that expresses the fear that one's life is wasted. Being plagued by illness, the speaker of the poem is reconsidering his choices, his ways of living, and is regretting not enjoying his young life as his nature required and desired.
The limitations of knowledge
The speaker suffers because he does not understand what God wants from him. He is educated, but realizes that all of his education will not help him understand what his fate will be: “Now I am here, what thou wilt do with me/None of my books will show.” This suspicion of academic knowledge also affects the way God is described in the poem. At times the speaker thinks of rebelling against God, but he says, "thou often didst with academic praise/Melt and dissolve my rage.” The poem shows an awareness of the limitations of knowledge when it comes to religious matters.
Being of use
The poem offers reflections on the importance of being useful to others. At one of his lowest moments, the speaker complains that “a blunted knife/Was of more use than I.” Then once he has given up on thinking that life will be an eternal springtime, his dreams become more modest. He says “I read, and sigh, and wish I were a tree.” He imagines that at least he could provide fruit, some shade, or perhaps a home for a bird. Being able to be of use, the poem suggests, makes suffering worth it.
