The seventeenth century was an era of beautiful poetry by important poets such as John Donne, Marvell, George Herbert, Sir John Supling etc... Just like on the other periods Love was one main theme on their poems. But on 17th century there were also religious themes that it was a bit more important than the other periods. I'll now have a look at the life's of important writers of the period so briefly to have an idea about how their religious backgrounds and writing styles affected the period.
George Herbert (1593 - 1633) was one of the most important religious poets of the period. He himself was a priest and we can see some parts of his own life in some of his poems. He rebuilt a church out of his own pocket. He was known as the "Holy Mr. Herbert" after his efforts for his religion and his poor people.
Engraving of Andrew Marvell
English: Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)
A statue of the poet Andrew Marvell, located in Ki...So George Herbert was a man so close to his religion and this surely reflected his poetry. He wrote many religious poems. "Affliction" and "The Collar" are my favorites for this famous poet of 17th century.
Another poet who is so close to the religious writing is Richard Crashaw (1613 - 1649). He is a phenomenon unique in Anglo-Saxon taste. He was much different than the other poets of all times. He was a follower of George Herbert and he also strongly effected by a school of Jesuit writers of sacred Latin epigrams. One of his most important works "Flaming Heart - Teresa" clearly shows us how a religious point of view and writing style he has. In the story of Teresa, there is a woman who gives all her life to her religion, Christianity; and all the difficulties that she has during her life just because of her...