Henry Vaughan: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction

Henry Vaughan (1621–1695) was a Welsh poet, physician, and mystic, best known for his devotional poetry in Silex Scintillans (1650, 1655). A follower of George Herbert, Vaughan’s work blends metaphysical complexity, nature mysticism, and spiritual depth, earning him a place among the great religious poets of the 17th century.

Life and Family

• Born: April 17, 1621, in Breconshire, Wales.
• Family:
  • Twin brother: Thomas Vaughan (alchemist and philosopher).
  • Background: Minor Welsh gentry, Anglican upbringing.
• Education:
  • Jesus College, Oxford (briefly, left without a degree).
  • Studied law in London but abandoned it for medicine.
• Career & Personal Life:
  • Practiced as a physician in Wales.
  • Fought for the Royalists in the English Civil War.
  • Deeply affected by the death of his first wife, Catherine Wise.
• Later Years:
  • Lived quietly in Wales, focusing on poetry and medicine.
  • Died April 23, 1695, and was buried in Llansantffraed, Wales.

Literary Works and Career

Vaughan’s poetry is characterized by:

• Mystical visions of nature as a reflection of divine presence.
• Herbertian influence (spiritual struggles, structured verse).
• Themes of renewal, light, and eternity.

Key Works & Publications

1. Secular Works (Early Career)
   • Poems, with the Tenth Satire of Juvenal Englished (1646) – Early, less religious verse.
2. Religious Masterpiece
   • Silex Scintillans ("The Fiery Flint," 1650, expanded 1655) – His major work, featuring:
     • The World ("I saw Eternity the other night...").
     • They Are All Gone into the World of Light.
     • The Retreat (inspired Wordsworth’s Ode: Intimations of Immortality).
3. Prose & Translations
   • The Mount of Olives (1652) – Devotional meditations.
   • Translations of medical and philosophical works.

Qualifications & Positions

• Education: Informal (Oxford briefly, self-taught in medicine).
• Professions:
  • Physician (practiced in Wales).
  • Royalist soldier (Civil War).

Notable Works List with Publication

Poetry

• Silex Scintillans (1650, 1655) – Contains his most famous religious poems.
• Olor Iscanus (1651) – Secular poems and translations.

Major Individual Poems

1. The World ("I saw Eternity the other night...").
2. The Retreat ("Happy those early days! when I / Shined in my angel-infancy...").
3. They Are All Gone into the World of Light.
4. Peace ("My soul, there is a country...").

Legacy

• Nature Mysticism: Anticipated Romantic poets like Wordsworth.
• Religious Depth: Compared to Herbert and Traherne.
• Welsh Literary Heritage: Among the finest Welsh poets in English.