Jackson argues that Herbert’s outlook was guided by sound, and, as a result, the power of his lyric poetry is enhanced. Herbert’s “lived experience” of music was one that was fully interactive with society. Herbert, like many in his family, was an accomplished musician, as a viol-player, lutenist, singer, and composer. Jackson emphasises Herbert’s love not just of sacred music, but also of recreational secular music.
Simon Jackson’s new scholarly work immerses us in Herbert’s musical world and argues convincingly that Herbert’s interest in, and practice of, music pervades his poetic art. But we may not have reflected on how Herbert and his lyric poetry were powerfully influenced by music itself. “RISE heart thy Lord is risen.” Many of us may have heard or sung the poetry of the 17th-century priest and poet George Herbert, perhaps set to music by Vaughan Williams, as this poem, “Easter”, was.
