The reputation and stature of George Wither, poet and pamphleteer, has varied widely, both in his own lifetime and in the centuries that have followed. His outspoken and topical approach attracted many readers in his own time and has rendered him difficult, and at times tedious, for readers less familiar with the politics and events of the seventeenth century. He deserves to be read and discussed for his widespread popularity in his own time and for his lifelong commitment to writing as his chief profession. He also illustrates well the problems inherent in attempting to categorize writers of the early Stuart and Interregnum periods into either the Royalist or opposition camp.

George Wither was born in 1588 to George and Mary Wither in the village of Bentworth, Hampshire. The poet's brother James grew up to be mayor of Basingstoke. After early education under Ralph Starkey, a near relative, and...