George Herbert

George Herbert (1593-1633) was an Anglican priest and religious poet, and is an important figure for English Renaissance literature and the group of writers referred to as the metaphysical poets. His most famous work is a collection of poems entitled The Temple, a group of poems arranged to replicate moving through a temple. Though his poetry is less conceptually dense than Donne's, drawing more from the Bible than contemporary philosophy, Herbert's poetry is complex and formally innovative.

Biography

Herbert was born on April 3, 1593 at Montgomery in Wales, the seventh of ten children. Several years after his birth, and following the death of Herbert's father, his mother moved her ten children, first to stay with her mother at Eyton-on-Severn in Shropshire in 1597, and then to Oxford in 1599. In 1604, George began classes at Westminster School, studying Greek, Latin, and liturgical music, and he was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1609.

Herbert moved through the ranks at Cambridge, which ultimately culminated in his becoming an orator at the university in 1620. This position entailed crafting speeches and writings for high ranking government officials, and in the March of 1623 Herbert delivered a speech to King James I.

In 1624, in accordance with family tradition, Herbert was elected as the MP for Montgomery. By 1626, however, Herbert relinquished his post to his brother, Henry.

In June 1627, Herbert's mother died after an extended sickness. Herbert wrote poetry in Latin and Greek to commemorate her, and John Donne gave a sermon at the funeral (he had been acquainted with the family since at least 1607). In 1629, Herbert married Jane Danvers, a cousin of his stepfather, and in 1630 he became a priest and the rector of Fugglestone-with-Bemerton. Though his station at Bemerton has done much to contribute to the romantic picture of Herbert as a rural parish priest, Herbert seems to have maintained his high society connections.

Two years later, Herbert became gravely ill. He died in 1633, at age 39.