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Born
George Herbert was born in Montgomery, Wales into a wealthy family. Actually, his father's side of the family was one of the wealthiest in the region. -
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George Herbert
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Death of father, Richard Herbert
When Herbert was 3 years old, his father, Richard Herbert, passed away. This left the upbringing of him and his nine siblings solely to his mother, Magdalen. -
Westminster School
At the age of 10, Herbert left to attend Westminster School, a well-known grammar school in London. Here he studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew and music and had the opportunity to meet one of the great preachers of the time, Lancelot Andrewes. -
Trinity College
Admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge on a scholarship and gained his Bachelors and Masters degrees there. -
First record of poetry
Herbert's first recorded poetry included two sonnets that he wrote for his mother as a New Years gift. In the letter accompanying them, Herbert is recorded as saying: "my poor Abilities in Poetry, shall be all, and ever consecrated to Gods glory." The sonnets talk about how he wants to write about the love of God, and not women. Both sonnets also have an element of personal discovery in them, something that is seen in much of his later work as well. -
Established himself as orator
One collection of Latin epigrams, titled Musae Responsoriae, includes many short satiric and witty poems in defense of the university. He wrote these in response to Andrew Melville, a Presbyterian who criticized the universities for not supporting Puritan reform. Personally, Herbert was critical of the excesses of the Catholic Church, but he was also not fully in support of the Puritan ways. His preference was a happy medium between the two. -
Elected Cambridge University orator
In 1620, Herbert wated university orator, which was a very prestigious position. It involved making speeches and writing letters on behalf of the university. He also continued to write poetry througout this period. -
Wrote short collections of Latin poems
During his time at Cambridge, Herbert wrote many Latin poems. One, titled Musae Responsoriae, was a satirical and witty response to attacks on the University. The other two, Lucus, and Passio Discerpta, were mainly sacred verse. Topics of these poems included Christ, the pope, pride. love, death and much more. These are all themes that are seen in his later work. -
Death of mother, Magdalen Herbert
In June 1627, Herbert's mother died. This affected Herbert greatly. She was the single parent that raised him, and they were pretty close. Not to mention that he had been very ill for the duration of the year before this. Joseph H. Summers described these years as "the blackest of all for Herbert." -
Memoriae Matris Sacrum published
A month after his mother's death, Herbert published a book of 19 Greek and Latin poems. It was released with John Donne's funeral sermon (Donne was a friend of his mothers). The wide range of emotion that Herbert was feeling at the time can be seen in this collection. The poems give us a glimpse of his relationship with his mother and how much influence she had on his life. -
Marriage to Jane Danvers
Married Jane Danvers -
Priesthood
Became an ordained priest and moved to Bemerton, a small village in South West England. He was very busy with his daily duties, but he still found time to write. It was here that he wrote and put together his final collection of poetry, The Temple. -
Herbert's Style
Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote about his diction, saying, “nothing can be more pure, manly, or unaffected." -
Death
Herbert died of tuberculosis at the age of 40, just three years after becoming a priest. On his deathbed, he had the manuscript of The Temple sent to a friend, Nicholas Ferrar. He told Ferrar to publish the poems if he thought they might "turn to the advantage of any dejected poor soul," and if not, to burn them. The Temple was published later that year. -
Works Cited Part 2
Kempe, Charles E. George Herbert. Digital image. George Herbert’s ‘brittle Crazie Glasse’. N.p., 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 3 May 2014.Westminster School Front. Digital image. Westminster School. Wikipedia, 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 3 May 2014.White, Robert. Portrait of George Herbert. Digital image. George Herbert. Wikipedia, 13 Apr. 2008. Web. 3 May 2014.Zuccaro, Federico. Magdalen Newport. Digital image. A Who's Who of Tudor Women. N.p., 2008. Web. 3 May 2014. -
Works Cited Part 1
"The Biography of George Herbert." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. Dunn, Andrew. Trinity College Great Court. Digital image. Trinity College, Cambridge. Wikipedia, 8 Sept. 2004. Web. 3 May 2014."George Herbert." Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. George Herbert's The Temple. Digital image. Cambridge Authors. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2014.Herbert, George. Easter Wings. Digital image. 1633 in Poetry. Wikipedia, 17 Aug. 2010. Web. 3 May 2014.
