George Herbert's Literary Career as a Holy Laureate

Abstract:This article examines George Herbert's entire oeuvre to emphasize the conscious textual construction of a literary career embedded within his works. Contrary to the prevailing scholarly conception of Herbert, his poetry and prose contain representations of laureate authorship that reveal sustained national ambition throughout his life. Indeed, throughout his career Herbert consistently reworks the relationship between poetry and the nation—a fact that challenges the critical trend to see Herbert's later poems as representing a poetry of retirement.