George Herbert: A Literary Life

208 Pages·2004·1.047 MB·English

by  Cristina Malcolmson (auth.)

Literary Lives
General Editor: Richard Dutton, Professor of English, Lancaster University
This series offers stimulating accounts of the literary careers of the most
admired and influential English-language authors. Volumes follow the
outline of the writers’ working lives, not in the spirit of traditional biogra-
phy, but aiming to trace the professional, publishing and social contexts
which shaped their writing.
Published titles include:
Clinton Machann Harold Pagliaro
MATTHEW ARNOLD HENRY FIELDING
Jan Fergus Andrew Hook
JANE AUSTEN F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Tom Winnifrith and Edward Chitham Mary Lago
CHARLOTTE AND EMILY BRONTË E.M. FORSTER
Sarah Wood Shirley Foster
ROBERT BROWNING ELIZABETH GASKELL
Janice Farrar Thaddeus Neil Sinyard
FRANCES BURNEY GRAHAM GREENE
Caroline Franklin James Gibson
BYRON THOMAS HARDY
Nancy A. Walker Cristina Malcolmson
KATE CHOPIN GEORGE HERBERT
Roger Sales Gerald Roberts
JOHN CLARE GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
Cedric Watts Kenneth Graham
JOSEPH CONRAD HENRY JAMES
Grahame Smith W. David Kaye
CHARLES DICKENS BEN JONSON
George Parfitt Phillip Mallett
JOHN DONNE RUDYARD KIPLING
Paul Hammond John Worthen
JOHN DRYDEN D.H. LAWRENCE
Kerry McSweeney Angela Smith
GEORGE ELIOT KATHERINE MANSFIELD
Tony Sharpe Lisa Hopkins
T.S. ELIOT CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
Cedric C. Brown Tony Sharpe
JOHN MILTON WALLACE STEVENS
Peter Davison Joseph McMinn
GEORGE ORWELL JONATHAN SWIFT
Linda Wagner-Martin Leonée Ormond
SYLVIA PLATH ALFRED TENNYSON
Felicity Rosslyn Peter Shillingsburg
ALEXANDER POPE WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY
Richard Dutton David Wykes
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE EVELYN WAUGH
John Williams John Mepham
MARY SHELLEY VIRGINIA WOOLF
Michael O’Neill John Williams
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Gary Waller Alasdair D.F. Macrae
EDMUND SPENSER W.B. YEATS
Literary Lives
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George Herbert
A Literary Life
Cristina Malcolmson
Bates College
© Cristina Malcolmson 2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-0-333-66978-5
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ISBN 978-0-333-66979-2 ISBN 978-0-230-53573-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230535732
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Malcolmson, Cristina.
George Herbert: a literary life / CristinaMalcolmson.
p. cm. – (Literary lives)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Herbert, George, 1593–1633. 2. Poets, English–Early modern,
1500–1700–Biography. 3. Church of England–England–Clergy–Biography.
I. Title. II. Literary lives (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))
PR3508.M288 2003
821’.3–dc21
[B]
2003054873
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
For Jancy and Stan
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Contents
Preface ix
Chronology of Herbert’s Life and Contextual Dates xvi–xxxv
1. The Sidney-Herbert Coterie 1
2. Cambridge and University Works 21
3. 1624 and The Temple 53
4. 1627 and Herbert’s Mother 77
5. The Temple: Poems on Grace, Employment, and the 97
Church
Afterword:The Country Parson 145
Notes 151
Index 167
vii
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Preface
The traditional image of George Herbert as an isolated genius living
in retreat from the world has almost completely given way before
evidence that the religious poet was publicly engaged, active within
an important social circle, and directly concerned with the future of
world Protestantism. Nevertheless, exactly what happened in
George Herbert’s literary career is a mystery that may never be
solved. It remains unclear why he begins his professional life as
Public Orator at Cambridge, and ends it as a rural minister in
Wilton. His major work The Temple is similarly enigmatic. Do the
devotional lyrics at the center of the work display Herbert’s decision
to embrace the contemplative life? Or do the long poems at the
beginning and end of the work testify to a man engaged in social
dynamics and the political problems of the church? The outlines of
Herbert’s literary career depend entirely on one’s perspective on the
issue. In this volume, I will follow recent studies that replace an
“otherworldly” Herbert with a poet writing public verse, committed
to nationalistic Protestantism, and perhaps seeking promotion to
higher office until the end of his life.
From this perspective, Herbert’s literary career was similar to that
of other upper-class men in seventeenth-century England: he wrote
to state his views, but also to make his abilities visible for potential
patrons. As a younger son in a gentry family, Herbert inherited no
land or title, and therefore he had to make a living in order to
achieve social independence. But Herbert’s upper-class status also
determined that he could not write for money without tainting
his reputation. Therefore the role of professional writer, which
Shakespeare accepted and Ben Jonson embraced, was not an option
for Herbert. His literary career was subordinated to the pursuit of
public office, whether in church or state. His writing was associated
with the institutions and circles he inhabited: the upper-class
coterie, Cambridge University, the Church of England.
He was also a poet of the finest ability. His training in rhetoric was
intended to prepare him for his work as Reader and Public Orator at
Cambridge, and later as an official in the court or church. But there
ix