![]() For an introduction to the community see A. In 1625, Mary Ferrar purchased a dilapidated house with an abandoned chapel in the small Huntingdonshire parish of Little Gidding. Eliot, George Herbert (Tavistock, UK: Northcote House Publishers, 1994), 17. Eliot points to four people who had an undeniable influence on Herbert’s spiritual development, leading him to become a priest: his mother, John Donne, the aforementioned Lancelot Andrewes, and Nicholas Ferrar of the Little Gidding community. ![]() Thus, at thirty-one years old, Herbert decided to pursue holy orders in the Church of England. ![]() Therefore my sudden soul caught at the place,Īnd made her youth and fierceness seek thy face. Thus argued into hopes, my thoughts reserved What pleasures could I want, whose King I served, Such stars I counted mine: both heav’n and earth Thy glorious household-stuff did me entwine, When first thou didst entice to thee my heart, Herbert’s autobiographical poem “The Affliction (I)” suggests, however, that Herbert experienced what we might call a “conversion” from a secular life in government to a life of service in the Church: Unfortunately, or, perhaps fortunately for us, several of Herbert’s political supporters died in quick succession, leaving him with little room for advancement in government, according to Walton. But, in his early 20s, Herbert had his mind set on a career in government so he became a Member of Parliament, an election he easily procured due to the fact that his mother had married Sir John Danvers, himself a Member of Parliament. As a college Fellow at Cambridge, Herbert was expected to become a priest in the Church of England, which was not much of a demand given that he was a devout, practicing Anglican. To supplement his income he took of the role of Public Orator at the university, a role that increased his social contacts, including with members of the court of King James I, Francis Bacon and the Anglican bishop Lancelot Andrewes. At the same time, however, Herbert, who had a fragile constitution, was often sick and struggled to make ends meet, especially given his need to purchase books. Walton writes, at school “the beauties of his pretty behaviour and wit shined and became so eminent and lovely in this his innocent age, that he seemed to be marked out for piety, and to become the care of Heaven, and of a particular good Angel to guard and guide him.” Tobin, ed., George Herbert, 270.Īt twenty-three years of age Herbert was made a Fellow of Trinity College, entrusted with teaching younger undergraduates Greek, rhetoric and oratory. At both Westminster and Trinity College, Herbert showed himself to be a good student with a demeanor comparable to the angels, it appears. ![]() He then proceeded to study at Trinity College, Cambridge. On choirs at Westminster Abbey in general see Edward Pine, The Westminster Abbey Singers (London: Dennis Dobson, 1953). Smith, ed., John Donne: The Complete English Poems (London: Penguin Books, 1971), 105.Īs a child Herbert was tutored at home but he began attending the Westminster School in London when he was twelve, gaining proficiency in Latin and Greek, as well as in choral singing, for the students at the school provided music for liturgical services at Westminster Abbey, which was next door. 1-2): and of her mind, “In all her words to every hearer fit,/You may at revels, or at council sit” (ll. Magdalen Herbert and Donne’s friendship is commemorated in Donne’s poem “The Autumnal,” wherein he writes of Magdalen’s beauty: “No Spring, nor Summer Beauty hath such grace/As I have seen in one autumnal face” (ll. John Donne.” John Tobin, ed., George Herbert: The Complete English Poems (London: Penguin Books, 1991), 271. George Herbert’s biographer Izaak Walton writes, “her great and harmless wit, her cheerful gravity and her obliging behaviour gained her an acquaintance and friendship with most of any eminent worth or learning, that were at that time in or near that University and particularly with Mr. Moreover, she was decently well-connected, in that she ran a kind of literary and academic salon that is, she managed a room used for the reception of guests that became a gathering place of Oxford University professors and dons and literary figures, including the poet John Donne. Though his father died when he was only three years old, Herbert’s mother, Magdalen, took responsibility for the education of her children. George Herbert was born on April 3, 1593, one of ten children. Essay / Literature The Architecture of George Herbert’s Poetry
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |