Overview

When celebrated poet Wendy Cope first encountered the work of George Herbert, she was captivated by his wit, craftsmanship and depth of thought. She took to him immediately. Herbert's verse, playful in form yet profound in reflection, continues to speak across the centuries, uniting poetic artistry with questions of meaning, belief and the human condition. In Dare to Be True, Cope introduces readers to Herbert's poetry and prose with warmth and insight, illuminating his struggle between worldly ambition and spiritual purpose. Drawing on Herbert's friendships with John Donne and Lancelot Andrewes, she situates him within the rich world of seventeenth-century literature and faith. From his celebrated poem Love (III) - described by Simone Weil as ""the most beautiful poem in the world"" - to lesser-known works revealing his honesty and humour, this collection invites a new generation to rediscover the clarity, depth and craftsmanship of Herbert's voice. As T. S. Eliot once wrote, Herbert is ""a major poet"" and in this volume, readers will see why. Perfect for readers of poetry, literary history, and those drawn to reflections on art, faith and human experience - from Wendy Cope to T. S. Eliot and beyond.

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9780281092093

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Reviews

""Any book of [Cope's] work is a national treasure chest... her work has, with care and precision, given us pathways to negotiate the world... Her Collected Poems is as human as an embrace.""--Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 4's The Verb ""Her poetry stands unsurpassed in its popularity and technical accomplishment - there's no better contemporary writer of forms such as the triolet - and in the wit, acuity and seriousness of purpose with which she shows us what it is to be human.""--The Guardian ""One has to go back to Byron to find a poet as consistently witty, wide-ranging and technically outstanding as Cope.""--Los Angeles Review of Books ""We can love Wendy Cope's words... for the rhymes they reveal but also for the sad truths they speak.""--Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker ""We need not wonder at Wendy Cope's continued, wide appeal. She writes poems that people want to read, and this is how poems survive.""--Literary Review ""Wendy Cope's real strength lies not in charm or insight (she has buckets of both) but in the pitch-perfect exactitude of her writing.""--The Sunday Times

Author Information

George Herbert was born in 1593. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, and became the Public Orator of the University. In 1626 he was ordained, and became rector of the parish of Bemerton, not far from Salisbury. His poetry is still widely read today and he wrote many of our well-loved hymns such as 'Teach me, my God and King', and 'Let all the world in every corner sing'. Wendy Cope is a well known poet, who has contributed a programme about George Herbert to BBC Radio 4's Poetry Please. She's recently gained a new generation of readers, due to the popularity of her work on TikTok.

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