George Herbert (April 3, 1593 – March 1, 1633) was a Welsh poet, orator and a priest. Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education which led on to him holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England, George Herbert excelled in languages and music. He went to college with the intention of becoming a priest, but his scholarship attracted the attention of King James I. Herbert served in parliament for two years. After the death of King James and at the urging of a friend, Herbert's interest in ordained ministry was renewed. In 1630, in his late thirties he gave up his secular ambitions and took holy orders in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as a rector of the little parish of St. Andrew Bemerton, near 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. Throughout his life he wrote religious poems 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 He is best remembered as a writer of poems and hymns such as "Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life" and "The King of Love My Shepherd Is." He is commemorated on February 27 throughout the Anglican Communion and on March 1 of the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
the apparition
When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead
And that thou think'st thee free
From all ...[read poem]
And that thou think'st thee free
From all ...
holy sonnets: at the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow
At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From d...[read poem]
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From d...
the dream
Dear love, for nothing less than thee
Would I have broke this happy dream;
It was ...[read poem]
Would I have broke this happy dream;
It was ...
a valediction: of weeping
Let me pour forth
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, a...[read poem]
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, a...
love's deity
I long to talk with some old lover's ghost,
Who died before the god of love was born.
...[read poem]
Who died before the god of love was born.
...
the sun rising
Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curt...[read poem]
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curt...
love's alchemy
Some that have deeper digg'd love's mine than I,
Say, where his centric happiness doth lie;...[read poem]
Say, where his centric happiness doth lie;...
lovers' infiniteness
If yet I have not all thy love,
Dear, I shall never have it all;
I cannot breathe one othe...[read poem]
Dear, I shall never have it all;
I cannot breathe one othe...
a nocturnal upon st. lucy's day
'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;...[read poem]
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;...
elegy ix: the autumnal
No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
You...[read poem]
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
You...
song: sweetest love, i do not go
Sweetest love, I do not go,
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show...[read poem]
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show...
resignation
I love you
because the earth turns round the sun
because the North wind blows north...[read poem]
because the earth turns round the sun
because the North wind blows north...
holy sonnets: since she whom i lov'd hath paid her last debt
Since she whom I lov'd hath paid her last debt
To nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,...[read poem]
To nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,...
satire iv
Well; I may now receive, and die. My sin
Indeed is great, but yet I have been in
A purgato...[read poem]
Indeed is great, but yet I have been in
A purgato...
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