George Herbert

George Herbert (1593-1633), English poet of the metaphysical school. He was born in Wales and educated at the University of Cambridge. He was made a fellow of the university in 1616 and served as public orator from 1619 to 1627. He gave up his secular ambitions, however, and took holy orders in the Church of England in 1630. He spent the rest of his life as rector in Bemerton.

Herbert is best known for his poetry, which was published posthumously under the title The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations (1633). His poems are characterized by a precision of language, a metrical versatility, and an ingenious use of imagery or conceits that was favored by the metaphysical school of poets such as John Donne. Many of Herbert's poems are of a religious nature, often revealing his own spiritual struggles and the solace he found in the priesthood. He also wrote a book of principles for the guidance of rural clergymen, A Priest to the Temple, or the Country Parson (1652). Herbert is the subject of a sympathetic biography by the English essayist Izaak Walton.