SOURCE: Carlson, Norman E. “George Wither—Dead at Last!” Michigan Academician 1, no. 1-2 (winter 1969): 191-95.

In the following essay, Carlson discusses Wither's controversial career as a satirist who aimed much of his invective at lawyers.

When, on May 2, 1667, George Wither died, after devoting at least fifty-five of his seventy-nine years of life to the publication of his poetic, prophetic, satiric, and choleric works in verse and prose, perhaps a slight tremor of relief shook England. However, one group of men, the lawyers, probably had mixed emotions which included some regret, for Wither had been good for their business. Exactly how good it is impossible to say, but examination of Court of Chancery documents can give us some notion.

In the eighteen years between 1643 and 1661 Wither was involved in no fewer than eleven separate chancery actions;¹ at least twenty-five documents, each the work of a lawyer, relevant to these...