Herrick, Robert (1591–1674)

English poet and cleric. He published Hesperides: or the Works both Humane and Divine of Robert Herrick (1648), a collection of verse admired for its lyric quality, including the well-known poems ‘Gather ye rosebuds’ and ‘Cherry ripe’.

Herrick was born in London. In 1607 he was apprenticed to his uncle, a wealthy goldsmith, but in 1614 he entered Cambridge. He graduated, was ordained in 1623, and from 1629 to 1648 was vicar of Dean Prior, near Totnes, Devon, where he wrote numerous lyrics of the countryside and rural customs. He was ejected by the Puritans, but returned to Dean Prior in 1662 and died there.

The ‘divine’ poems are, on the whole, unremarkable, but the ‘humane’ works are rich and varied, owing much to Roman models such as Catullus and Martial and to native influences such as English poet Ben Jonson, and popular ballads. They range in scale from couplets to Horatian odes and verse epistles, and cover such subjects as religion, politics, love, erotic fantasy, the value of poetry, and the changing cycles of life in the countryside.

Herrick, Robert (1868–1938)

US novelist. His novels, which explore the problems and corruptions of modern industrial civilization, include The Common Lot 1904, The Master of the Inn 1908, A Life for a Life 1910, Clark's Field 1914, and The End of Desire 1932.