Everyone knows about the work of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). And everyone knows about the King James Bible (1611). And everyone knows about John Milton (1608-1674) and “Paradise Lost.” But not everyone knows about the poetry of George Herbert (1593-1633). All four were contemporaneous in the early seventeenth century, what some would regard as the glory age of the highest peak of the English language. One example of the fine literary production of that period is verses from Herbert which are often sung as the hymn “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing.”
George Herbert was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England, about a century after the Protestant Reformation made its way to England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognized as “one of the foremost British devotional lyricists.” He was born in Wales into an artistic and wealthy family and largely raised in England. He received a good education that led to his admission to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1609. He went there with the intention of becoming a priest, but he became the University’s Public Orator and attracted the attention of King James I. He sat in England’s Parliament in 1624 and briefly in 1625. King James I (1566-1625), who initiated the translation of the Bible popularly known as the “King James Version,” respected Herbert and considered appointing him an ambassador. The King died before these hopes were fulfilled, so Herbert pursued his original career plans.