Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister Hate Quotes

Here we are, first line of the poem, and the speaker is already so disgusted that he can hardly form words – he actually growls to open the poem! He calls the as-yet-unnamed Brother Lawrence his "heart's abhorrence," reversing the usual poetic trope of addressing the speaker's beloved as his "heart's love" or "heart's joy."

The speaker admits that his hatred is intense enough to kill... if hate actually worked that way. Isn't it kind of bad to hate a fellow monk that much? Wouldn't that count as a sin?

The speaker intersperses delightful little oaths and swears like this with his fake-polite remarks about Brother Lawrence's gardening. Grumbling and swearing under your breath when you're angry at someone? Yeah, that seems pretty realistic.