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“Homely Phrases”: Revisiting the Simplicity Paradox in George Herbert’s Poetry
If we hear the same old dove Singing in the same old tree, Might this bring us back to love And beautiful simplicity?[1] God only is, writes Thomas Browne, all others…are something but by a distinction. (Religio Medici, I, 35) To read Herbert’s poems is to experience the dissolution of the distinctions by which all […]
Responses to George Herbert’s Simplicity
Since the first publication of The Temple in 1633, fellow poets and critics have commented diversely on the perceived simplicity of George Herbert’s verse. Their responses have differed widely in terminology, analysis and definition. “Simplicity” heads a nexus encompassing “plainness,” “homeliness,” “directness,” “sincerity” and “purity.” This post gathers together a selection of views and quotes […]
George Herbert: Poet and Spiritual Guide
George Herbert (1593-1633) belonged to the school of seventeenth-century which included John Donne, Henry Vaughan, Richard Crashaw, Abraham Cowley and Thomas Traherne. Helen Gardner’s introduction to her edition, The Metaphysical Poets (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966), is an expert discussion of the leading features of this school. Present-day Bemerton residents have provided an excellent illustrated biography of […]