Imago Dei, "image of God," describes the theological claim that humans are created in divine likeness, bearing God's image. In poetry, this phrase grounds human dignity in divine source, suggesting that persons possess sacred worth. Poets invoke it when defending human value, when insisting on equal dignity, or when exploring what divine likeness might mean. The concept raises questions about whether the image persists despite sin, whether all humans equally bear it, what capacities it includes. It appears in religious verse and poems about human worth, where speakers ground claims about dignity, rights, or sacred status in this theological premise, arguing that because humans image God, they merit reverence and cannot be treated as mere objects.

Imago Dei describes theological claim that humans are created in God's image, bearing divine likeness. Genesis 1:27 establishes the concept, which grounds human dignity in divine source. Poets invoke imago Dei when defending human value, when insisting on equal dignity, when exploring what divine likeness might mean. Related to debates about what capacities constitute the image—reason, creativity, moral sense, capacity for relationship. Useful for understanding religious poetry, verse about human worth, poems arguing that persons possess sacred status. The concept raises questions about whether the image persists despite sin, whether all humans equally bear it, whether certain acts can efface or diminish it. Contemporary poets use imago Dei when grounding claims about dignity, rights, or inherent worth in theological premise, arguing that because humans image God, they merit reverence, cannot be treated as mere objects or means. The phrase represents attempt to ground ethics in metaphysics, to derive ought from is.