The Temple

George Herbert was one of the so-called Metaphysical Poets, along with John Donne and Andrew Marvel, and The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, published in 1633, contains all his surviving English poems. All of Herbert's poems are on religious themes and are characterised by directness of expression which, in the Metaphysical manner, is functional rather than visual.

Herbert was for a time Public Orator at the University of Cambridge but later became a rural Parish Minister. Though he was always esteemed for his oratory, the poetic skill with which he expressed his thoughts had to wait many years to be fully appreciated.

(Summary by Alan Mapstone and Wikipedia)