George Herbert
Sign in to saveWelsh-born English poet, orator and Anglican priest (1593-1633)
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George Herbert was a Welsh-born English poet, orator, and Anglican priest who lived from 1593 to 1633. He matters because his religious poetry, which explores his personal faith and relationship with God, became influential in English literature and remains widely read today.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1593
- Died
- 1633
- Works
- 142
Top works
- Lacrymae Cantabrigienses
- English Poems and Jacula Prudentum (Collection of Proverbs.)
- The English poems of George Herbert
- A manuscript of seventy-three of Herbert's English poems and of two sets of his Latin poems
- Heart's-ease
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 512
- Total plays
Works in European collections
10 objects attributed to George Herbert, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
Article
George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devotional lyricists." He was born in Wales into an artistic and wealthy family and largely raised in England. He received a good education that led to his admission to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1609. He enrolled intending to become a priest, but became the University's Public Orator and attracted the attention of King James I. He sat in the Parliament of England in 1624 and briefly in 1625.
After the death of King James, Herbert renewed his interest in ordination. He gave up his secular ambitions in his mid-thirties and took holy orders in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as the rector of the rural parish of Fugglestone St Peter, just outside Salisbury. He was noted for unfailing care for his parishioners, bringing the sacraments to them when they were ill, and providing food and clothing for those in need. Henry Vaughan called him "a most glorious saint and seer". He was never a healthy man and died of consumption at age 39.