From The Temple

George Herbert, who lived from 1593 to 1633, was a Welsh-born English poet, orator and Anglican priest. He was a protégé of the great metaphysical poet John Donne and spent his last years as the minister of a small country parish. His poems were published after his death, in 1633, under the title The Temple, and they quickly became popular. They are regarded as one of the greatest cycles of religious poetry ever written.

In the volume, Herbert combines the two aspects of his training, the poet and the priest. The poems follow a loose structure that echoes the layout of a church, beginning with The Church-porch, passing through Superliminare and The Altar, and moving on to poems on the feasts and trials of Christian life. His language is simple and exact, and he is fond of homely images. Some poems are shaped to look like the objects they describe, and many others have stanza patterns that are carefully varied to reflect their themes.

Among poets of the seventeenth century, Herbert is often admired for his sincerity and humility. His work influenced many later writers and has been set to music by composers up to the present day.

This LibriVox recording is a selection from the whole work, read by a single volunteer, Kirsten Ferreri. It includes thirty-five chapters, beginning with the dedication and the printers’ introduction, and lasts about an hour and a half. The poems are short, so they can be listened to a few at a time. It is gentle, spiritual poetry that suits a calm moment, and a good way to meet a poet who has influenced many writers since.