George Wither

George Wither was born in Bentworth, England, on June 11, 1588. He attended Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1604 to 1606 but left before receiving a degree. In 1613, he published a collection of satirical essays, Abuses Stript and Whipt (G. Eld), which resulted in his arrest and imprisonment in 1614. While in prison, Wither wrote The Shepheards Hunting (W. White, 1615), which is often considered his best work. He went on to write several more works of poetry, including Britain’s Remembrancer (John Grismond, 1628), The Hymnes and Songs of the Church (George Wither, 1623), and Faire-Virtue, The Mistress of Phil’Arete (Augustine Mathewes, 1622). Wither died in London on May 2, 1667.