Robert Herrick, Noble Numbers

Glyn Pursglove (Swansea University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1648

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

When Robert Herrick's major collection Hesperides was published in 1648, its title-page promised the reader “The Works Both Humane & Divine” of the author. The volume closes, in fact, with a collection of almost 300 poems prefaced by its own title-page, reading “HIS NOBLE NUMBERS: OR, HIS PIOUS PIECES, Wherein (amongst other things) he sings the Birth of his CHRIST: and sighes for his Saviours suffering on the Crosse“. The title-page of Noble Numbers bears, confusingly, the date 1647. Perhaps Herrick (who seems to have supervised the preparation of Hesperides) originally intended to issue Noble Numbers as a separate publication; whatever the circumstances it appeared as part of …

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478 words

Citation: Pursglove, Glyn. "Noble Numbers". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2000 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3230, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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