1627 and Herbert’s Mother

Abstract

The funeral of Lady Magdalene Herbert was held on June 8, 1627, and, during the next month, George wrote 15 epigrams in Latin and 4 in Greek. Entitled Memoriae Matris Sacrum, the work was published on July 7 with Donne’s commemorative sermon. Many have approached these poems as representing Herbert’s retirement from public life. However the sequence provides evidence of the hard work he invested in preparation for office and his frustration at lack of preferment. It is true that there is very little sign of his public activity during the six years between his readiness to be a deacon in November 1624 and his ordination as priest in September 1630. We have almost no verifiable evidence of his actions in 1625 and 1628, and 1627 is marked primarily by the poems written for his mother. However, he was engaged in a number of public labors in 1626, both secular and religious. It is therefore difficult to believe that Herbert had instituted for himself a full-fledged policy of retreat from the world. The best explanation for the inactivity of 1625, 1627, and 1628 is a combination of sickness and unemployment.¹