Wither, George (1588–1667)

English poet. In 1613 he published a collection of bold satires, Abuses Stript and Whipt, for which he was imprisoned. While in prison he wrote The Shepheard's Hunting 1615, a pastoral. The satirical Wither's Motto 1621 earned him another prison term, and in 1622 he published Faire Virtue, the Mistress of Philarete. In his later years he wrote many religious poems.