Overview

This book presents a historically and critically nuanced study of George Herbert's biblical poetics. Situating Herbert's work in the context of shifting ideas of biblical mystery, Gary Kuchar shows how Herbert negotiated two competing impulses within post-reformation thought—two contrary aspects of reformation spirituality as he inherited it: the impulse to certainty, assurance, and security and the impulse to mystery, wonder, and wise ignorance. Through subtle and richly contextualized readings, Kuchar places Herbert within a trans-historical tradition of biblical interpretation while also locating him firmly within the context of the early Stuart church. The result is a wide ranging book that is sure to be of interest to students and scholars across several different fields, including seventeenth-century studies, poetry and the bible, and literature and theology. 

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9783319829685

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Reviews

The diverse scope of the book, ranging from reformation theology and biblical exegesis to natural philosophy and critical theory, makes it of interest not only to graduate students and academics working on Herbert, but to anyone interested in the philosophical debates of biblical reception and interpretation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. ... George Herbert and the Mystery of the Word is a striking piece of scholarship, expertly written, and wide-ranging in its implications for Herbert studies ... . (Naya Tsentourou, Modern Language Review, Vol.113 (2), April, 2018)

Author Information

Gary Kuchar is Associate Professor of English at the University of Victoria, Canada. He is the author of Divine Subjection: The Rhetoric of Sacramental Devotion in Early Modern England; The Poetry of Religious Sorrow in Early Modern England; and co-editor of The Return to Theory in Early Modern English Studies Vol. 2.

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