The Shadow of Eternity: Belief and Structure in Herbert, Vaughan, and Traherne

The poetry of Herbert, Vaughan, and Traherne represents "an attempt to shape their lives and verse around the fact of divine presence and influence," writes Sharon Seelig. The relationship between belief and expression in these three metaphysical poets is the subject of this deeply perceptive study.

Each of these poets held to some extent the notion of dual reality, of the world as indicative of a higher reality, but their responses to this tradition vary greatly—from the ongoing struggle be...