Conclusion

What is it about?

The book concludes by showing how Henry Vaughan’s biblical poetics exemplifies Kuchar’s claim that the emphasis on mystery in seventeenth-century English Protestantism helps explain why the religious lyric flourished in the age of Donne rather than the age of Wyatt. It also summarizes the book’s overall argument with reference to St. Augustine’s theory of prayer. Differentiating Augustine’s view of prayer’s relation to the origin of faith from the two extremes exemplified by Calvin and Pascal, the conclusion reemphasizes how Herbert balanced the importance of the habits of faith with the unpredictable aspects of spiritual motions. Concomitantly, Kuchar shows how Herbert’s views of tradition and eucharistic prayer bear a close resemblance to John Buckeridge’s funeral sermon for Lancelot Andrewes. Viewed in this context, it becomes clear that there is no contradiction in seeing Herbert's poetics as rooted in both Augustine's theory of prayer and the Bishop of Hippo's broader eucharistic vision.

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