George Herbert

"This volume replaces the traditional image of George Herbert as meditative recluse with a portrait of the poet as engaged throughout his life with the religion, politics and society of his time. Instead of an isolated genius living in retreat from the world, Herbert appears as a man writing public verse, active within an important social circle, and committed to nationalistic Protestantism. Important developments in the country and abroad, including the religious policies of the Stuart court and the Thirty Years War, are considered in relation to the chronology of Herbert's life. His major…