Henry Vaughan facts for kids

Henry Vaughan (born April 17, 1621, died April 23, 1695) was a Welsh poet, writer, and translator. He also worked as a doctor! He is famous for his religious poems, especially those in his book Silex Scintillans (published in 1650 and 1655).

Before that, he published Poems in 1646, which included a translation of a Roman poem. Reading another religious poet, George Herbert, inspired him to write more serious, spiritual poems. He also wrote other prose books and translated medical works. In the 1650s, he started his medical practice, which he continued for the rest of his life.

Early Life and Family

Henry Vaughan was born in a place called Newton by Usk, in the Llansantffraed area of Brecknockshire, Wales. He was the oldest child of Thomas Vaughan and Denise Jenkin.

Henry had a twin brother named Thomas Vaughan. His brother became a famous philosopher and alchemist. The Vaughan family was connected to important Welsh families.

Education and the Civil War

Henry and his brother Thomas went to school with Matthew Herbert, a local church leader. This teacher helped them love the church and the king. Matthew Herbert was later put in prison for his beliefs during a tough time in England.

Thomas Vaughan went to Jesus College, Oxford in 1638. It's believed Henry went there around the same time. However, records are not clear about Henry's time at Oxford. Some think he might have gone later, around 1641.

As the English Civil War began, Henry Vaughan was called back home from London. He worked as a secretary for Sir Marmaduke Lloyd, a judge and strong supporter of the king. Henry is also thought to have fought briefly in the Royalist army. After the war, he started working as a doctor.

Around 1646, Henry married Catherine Wise. They had a son, Thomas, and three daughters: Lucy, Frances, and Catherine. After Catherine died, he married her sister, Elizabeth, probably in 1655.

Secular Writings

Vaughan loved his home country of Wales. He called himself "Silurist" after the Silures, an old Celtic tribe that lived in South Wales. This tribe bravely fought against the Romans. This name showed his deep love for the Welsh mountains and the River Usk valley, where he lived most of his life.

Around 1647, Vaughan and his family chose to live in the countryside. Here, he wrote a book of poems called Olor Iscanus (which means "The Swan of Usk"). This book was not published until 1651. Vaughan later said he wished these poems had stayed hidden.

Olor Iscanus talks about the hard times in Vaughan's home area during the Civil War. Even though no big battles happened there, the war deeply affected him and his community. The Puritans caused problems for Anglicans and Royalists. Vaughan even lost his home around this time.

The poems in Olor Iscanus are very different from his famous religious work, Silex Scintillans. Olor Iscanus shows Vaughan's thoughts about the Civil War. It's not always clear if he fought in the war. He said he was "clean of innocent blood" but also described battles as if he saw them. These poems show his sadness about how the war changed the king's power and society.

Olor Iscanus also includes translations of works by famous Latin writers like Ovid and Boethius.

Religious Conversion and Poetry

Henry Vaughan became very famous after writing Silex Scintillans. The time before its first publication in 1650 was very important for him. He wrote that he had been very sick and in a lot of pain. Vaughan believed this sickness was a sign from God. He felt he had been given a second chance to change his life and his writing. He called his earlier works "corrupt literature."

Vaughan said that the poet George Herbert was a big reason for his change. Vaughan felt he was one of many people Herbert had inspired to become more religious. Around 1650, Vaughan adopted the saying "Moriendo, revixi," which means "by dying, I gain new life."

After Silex Scintillans, he published The Mount of Olives, or Solitary Devotions (1652). This was a book of prayers for different times of the day. It was like a helpful guide to the Book of Common Prayer, which was actually against the law at the time. He also translated other religious works from Latin.

Vaughan started practicing medicine, possibly as early as the 1640s. He included a translation of a medical book called Hermetical Physick in the second part of Silex Scintillans (1655). He later translated another medical book, The Chymists Key, in 1657.

Poetic Inspirations

Vaughan was greatly inspired by George Herbert. Herbert's work gave him a model for his new spiritual life and writing career. Many critics compare Vaughan's poetry to Herbert's. Some say Vaughan is a better poet, while others say Herbert is the master.

Vaughan himself said he was one of Herbert's "pious converts." Herbert's book The Temple is often seen as the main inspiration for Vaughan's Silex Scintillans. Both books share similar themes and beliefs. For example, the start of Vaughan's poem "Unprofitableness" sounds a lot like Herbert's "The Flower."

Some critics have said Vaughan copied Herbert too much. They felt he used similar writing tricks and didn't learn enough from Herbert. However, others argue that Vaughan was not just an imitator. They say he found his own unique voice.

Vaughan often showed his love for nature and a sense of mystery in his poems. He thought about the physical world and the spiritual world and how they connect. He was loyal to the Anglican Church and its traditions. But he truly found his voice in deeper, more mystical themes. These included eternity, talking with the dead, nature, and childhood. He was a "poet of revelation" who used the Bible, nature, and his own life to show his ideas about eternity. This makes Vaughan's poetry sound quite modern.

Vaughan often used a literary device called alliteration, which is common in Welsh poetry. You can see this in the beginning of his poem "The Water-fall."

He also wrote about personal sadness in poems like "The World" and "They Are All Gone into the World of Light." Another poem, "The Retreat," talks about losing childhood innocence. This was a common theme for him. It's thought that the death of his younger brother helped him find his unique voice.

Here is a beautiful part of his poem 'The World':

I saw Eternity the other night,

Like a great ring of pure and endless light,

All calm, as it was bright,

And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years

Driv'n by the spheres

Like a vast shadow mov'd; in which the world

And all her train were hurl'd.

Death and Lasting Impact

Henry Vaughan was not as famous during his lifetime as he became after his death. He died on April 23, 1695, at the age of 74. He was buried in the churchyard of St Bride's, Llansantffraed, Wales, where he had lived most of his life. His grave is still visited by fans and has inspired other poets.

Vaughan is known for writing both beautiful poetry and clear prose. He influenced later poets like Wordsworth and Tennyson. The science fiction writer Philip K. Dick also said Vaughan was a key influence on his work.

Musical Settings

Several of Vaughan's poems from Silex Scintillans have been turned into music, including:

• "The Evening-Watch: Dialogue between Body and Soul" by Gustav Holst (1924).
• "Welcome, sweet and sacred feast" by Gerald Finzi (1953).
• "My soul, there is a country" from Peace, set by Hubert Parry (1916–1918).
• Several poems set by Daniel Jones in his cantata The Country Beyond the Stars.
• "Christ's Nativity" and "Peace" set by Timothy Hoekman in his 1992 song sequence The Nativity.
• "They Are All Gone into the World of Light" set by Howard Goodall in his 2004 choral work.

Works

• Poems, with the Tenth Satire of Juvenal Englished (1646)
• Olor Iscanus (written 1647, published 1651)
• Silex Scintillans (1650 and 1655)
• Mount of Olives, or Solitary Devotions (1652)
• Flores Solitudinis (1654)
• Hermetical Physics (1655), a translation
• The Chymists Key (1657), a translation
• Thalia Rediviva (1678), a collection of poems with his brother Thomas

See also

In Spanish: Henry Vaughan para niños

• Physician writer

Further reading

• Grant, Patrick. 1974. The Transformation of Sin: Studies in Donne, Herbert, Vaughan, and Traherne. Montreal:McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN: 0870231588