George Wither

Born in Bentworth, Hampshire, in 1588, George Wither studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, but left without taking a degree. He first became known for pastoral and love poems, then built a reputation as a satirist whose writing could be bold enough to cause trouble.

As his beliefs deepened, his work turned increasingly toward Puritan religion and public debate. He became especially known for hymns as well as religious and political writing, and his long career placed him right in the middle of the upheavals of seventeenth-century England.

Wither died in 1667, leaving behind a body of work that feels varied and alive: lyrical in one book, severe in another, and often closely tied to the struggles of his time. For listeners today, he offers a vivid window into an age when poetry, faith, and politics were deeply intertwined.