The Poetry Of Henry Vaughan

Combining historical scholarship and intertextual criticism, this study reassesses Henry Vaughan's entire literary career with particular reference to his relationship to George Herbert. Originally published in 1982. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Henry Vaughan (1621-1695) was a metaphysical poet. He was a Welshman, born beside the River Usk in the beautiful Brecon Beacons. Throughout the period of the Civil War, traumatic both for himself and those he loved, Vaughan wrote moving poems which record extreme spiritual experience balanced by intense delight in the natural world. This is the fifth volume of a series of introductory books on seventeenth century spiritual writing. Poetry from all of Vaughan's five collections have been included in this anthology, which Anne Cluysenaar introduces with a scholarly but accessible introduction to Vaughan's life. She provides a valuable initiation into the work of this brilliant seventeenth century poet.