Robert Herrick (poet) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Herrick
|
|
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg)
Herrick, 1904 illustration
|
|
| Born | baptised 24 August 1591 London, England |
| Died | buried 15 October 1674 (aged 83) Dean Prior, England |
| Occupation | Poet and cleric |
| Language | Early Modern English |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
| Notable works | "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" Hesperides |
Robert Herrick was an English poet and church leader who lived in the 1600s. He is famous for his book of poems called Hesperides. One of his most well-known poems from this book is "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", which starts with the famous line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may." This poem talks about enjoying life now, a theme known as carpe diem.
Contents
Robert Herrick's Early Life
Robert Herrick was born in Cheapside, London, on August 24, 1591. He was the seventh child of Nicholas Herrick, a successful goldsmith. Sadly, Robert's father died when Robert was only one year old.
It's thought that Robert Herrick went to Merchant Taylors' School. In 1607, he started learning to be a goldsmith and jeweler with his uncle, Sir William Herrick. This training lasted for six years.
When he was 22, Herrick went to St John's College at Cambridge University. He later moved to Trinity Hall and finished his studies in 1617. He became part of a group called the "Sons of Ben". This group admired the writer Ben Jonson, and Herrick even wrote several poems to him. In 1623, Herrick became a priest in the Church of England. By 1629, he was the vicar (a type of church leader) in Dean Prior in Devon.
Life During the English Civil War
In 1647, during the English Civil War, Robert Herrick was removed from his church job. This happened because he refused to sign an agreement called the Solemn League and Covenant. He moved back to London and relied on help from his friends and family.
During this time, he worked on getting his poems ready to be published. His book, Hesperides; or the Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick, was printed in 1648. He dedicated it to the Prince of Wales.
Return to Dean Prior
When King Charles II became king again in 1660 (this was called the Stuart Restoration), Herrick asked to get his church job back. He had written poems celebrating the births of King Charles II and his brother James before the Civil War. This helped him regain favor.
Herrick became the vicar of Dean Prior again in the summer of 1662. He lived there until he died in October 1674, at the age of 83. We don't know his exact death date, but he was buried on October 15. Herrick never married. Many of the women he mentions in his poems are believed to be made-up characters.
Robert Herrick's Poetic Style
Robert Herrick wrote more than 2,500 poems. About half of these are in his main work, Hesperides. This book also includes a shorter collection of religious poems called Noble Numbers, which was first published in 1648. His later poems often explored spiritual and philosophical ideas.
Herrick's poems are known for being clear and simple. He wrote about English country life, the changing seasons, and village traditions. He also wrote poems praising different ladies and his friends. Many of his themes came from ancient Greek and Roman writings. His Christian faith was a strong foundation for his work.
One of Herrick's most famous short poems is number 475, which is very brief:
Thus I
Pass by
And die,
As one
Unknown
And gone.
Herrick never married, and his love poems don't seem to be about any one real woman. He loved to write about the beauty and variety of life. You can see this in poems like "Cherry-ripe" and "Upon Julia's Clothes".
The main message in Herrick's poetry is that life is short, the world is beautiful, and love is wonderful. He believed we should make the most of the short time we have. This idea is very clear in "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", "To Daffodils", and "Corinna's Going A Maying". These poems show his warm and cheerful personality.
The first part of his famous poem, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", says:
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
This is a great example of a carpe diem poem, which means "seize the day." Herrick's poems helped make this type of writing popular again.
When his poems were first published, they weren't very popular. His style, influenced by Ben Jonson and classical writers, seemed a bit old-fashioned to people who preferred the more complex poems of writers like John Donne. However, his work was rediscovered in the early 1800s and has been printed regularly ever since. The poet Swinburne called Herrick "the greatest song writer ever born of English race."
Robert Herrick in Other Works
Robert Herrick has appeared as a character or been mentioned in several books and plays:
- In James Branch Cabell's 1916 story "Concerning Corrina", Herrick is suggested to have used dark arts.
- He is a main character in Rose Macaulay's 1932 historical novel They Were Defeated.
- In Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days, a character named Winnie quotes from Herrick's "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time".
- In Ken Bruen's novel Rilke on Black, Herrick's short poem "Dreams" is a favorite of the main character.
- Herrick is one of many historical figures in the 1632 alternate history book series.
- He was mentioned in the TV show 'Industry' in December 2020, relating to the idea of time passing.
Robert Herrick's Music Settings
Many composers have set Robert Herrick's poems to music over the centuries.
- The first composers to do this were his friends and people who lived around the same time, from 1624 to 1683. These included Henry and William Lawes, John Wilson, and Robert Ramsey.
- In the early 1900s, Herrick's poems became very popular with a new group of composers. Fritz Hart was one of the most active, creating over 120 musical settings for Herrick's poems.
Other composers who set Herrick's poems to music include:
- Arnold Bax: "To Daffodils"
- Benjamin Britten: "To Violets" (in Spring Symphony), "To Daffodils" (in Five Flower Songs)
- Frederick Delius: "To Daffodils"
- Herbert Howells: "Here she lies, a pretty bud"
- Hubert Parry: "Julia"
- Roger Quilter: To Julia, Op. 8 (includes "Cherry Ripe")
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: "To Daffodils" (two different settings)
- Peter Warlock: Two Short Songs
See also
In Spanish: Robert Herrick para niños
- Country house poems
Images for kids
-
Herrick, 1904 illustration
-
Title page of Hesperides (1648)
-
Gather Ye rosebuds While Ye May, by John William Waterhouse, (1909)
