Selection from the Lyrical Poems of Robert Herrick
Author: first_name:  Robert
last_name: Herrick
Language: English
Year: 1876

Robert Herrick had been apprenticed to a goldsmith before entering holy orders. This early training has been credited with influencing his metrical precision and his success with short poems. A still more important influence was Ben Jonson, for he was a member of the "sons of Ben," the coterie of younger poets that surrounded that great dramatist, Shakespeare's rival and friend. He even addresses a poem to Jonson addressing him as his "saint."

As a country parson, far from the bustle of Londo