Herbert experimented brilliantly with a remarkable variety of forms, from hymns and sonnets to "pattern poems," the shape of which reveal their subjects. Such technical agility never seems ostentatious, however, for precision of language and expression of genuine feeling were the primary concerns of this poet who admonished his readers to "dare to be true." An Anglican priest who took his calling with deep seriousness, he brought to his work a religious reverence richly allied with a playful wit and with literary and musical gifts of the highest order. His best-loved poems, from "The Collar" and "Jordan" to "The Altar" and "Easter Wings," achieve a perfection of form and feeling, a rare luminosity, and a timeless metaphysical grandeur.
I593 Herbert born (3 April) in Montgomery in Wales, the fifth son of Richard and Magdalen Herbert. Izaak Walton born. Death of Marlowe. Hooker's Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Polity (Books I-IV) published. I595 Sidney's Apologie for Poetrie and Spenser's Amoretti and Epithalamion published. Midsummer Night's Dream first (?) acted; also Richard II. I596 Herbert's father dies; survived by his wife Magdalen, seven sons, and three daughters. The eldest son Edward matriculates at University College, Oxford. Spenser's Faerie Queene (Books IV-VI) published; also his Four Hymns.
以下为对购买帮助不大的评价