The Canonization is a piece comprised of different themes and dedications, especially after examining its words with Richard's theories in mind. The word "canonization" refers to the process by which a deceased person is declared a saint, and a religious tone is definitely laced throughout the piece. In origin, a person could be referred to as a saint without any formal reasoning, but the decision became more particular with time. It appears that the author is addressing God, asking him questions about love and how his personal devotion affects the world around him. He states that love in is entirety is what defines human nature, most of the actions performed in everyday. He questions how the concept of "love" is perceived differently according to specific situations, and he doesn't understand how his love could affect the world in an overwhelmingly negative way. 

Richard's theory examines four ideas to examine in close reading, being sense, feeling, tone and intention. Each of these can be applied to "The Canonization, starting with sense. The language uses an address to God, who the author is speaking to about his current state of love. The language lapses between contemporary and words that weren't recognizable as well as different spellings. The author chose to organize their thoughts into separate paragraphs, keeping the language and address constant throughout. In the context of feeling (as well as tone, in a different examination), the author often uses phrases like "so you will let me love" and "who's injured by my love?" Sometimes it's unclear as to whether or not the author is referring to a direct relationship (as "her," is often mentioned) or if he's merely referring to his relationship with God. He refers to Creation as something the Lord challenged himself with, referencing life and death as well, the value love holds in existing. He realizes that life continues being dysfunctional even with love around, that soldiers still die in battle and lawyers still find corruption. The author understands how God so loved the world, and he carries confusion as to why controversy can be caused as a result of love. The tone is not overwhelmingly biblical, the concepts are presented in the authors perspective, non aggressively. 

The last and (as discussed in class) most difficult idea that Richards presents is "intention," which is somewhat holistic of sense, tone, and feeling. It seems, in this piece, that the author wants to examine love's role in his own life. "Call us what you will, wee are made such by love." God created the world to his likeness, humans in his own light. He believes that humans owe this entirely to the love God provided for us, and that it shouldn't cause controversy. "A patterne of your love" suggests that we should follow in his footsteps when perceiving love.