Mary Sidney Herbert

Although Mary Sidney Herbert was not a royal, she still had the luxury of being an important figure in Elizabethan England. Like all other women writers of this time period Herbert had faced many criticisms, she kept persevering in writing with her main focus on religious themes. She was the sister of Sir Philip Sidney, which helped attribute to her success. His death was even the spark of her literary career: she encouraged works written in his praise, pusblished his works and completed his translations of the Psalms. She had a nice childhood, she earned an excellent education, then married Henry Herbert at the ripe age of 15. A devastating series of deaths in the family had sparked Herbert's writing career in the late 1580's.

During difficult times in one's life it is not uncommon to look to their religion for guidance, which is exactly what Herbert did. The poem "O" begins with an image of God lighting the way for her. She also establishes that everything she does will be in response to God's pure word, which will guide her every step. In the second stanza Herbert talks about the grief and sadness she is overcome with, yet she is still following God's light and word. In the third stanza Herbert expresses her vulnerability in saying, "What if my life lie naked in my hand, To every chance exposed!" Mary describes herself as being exposed to sadness and grief, yet in control since her life is in her own hands. In the fourth stanza she reiterates her belief in God and the scriptures that have been passed down to her. She writes, "My heart which still doth bend," which shows that she has been through so much, so many deaths, yet her heart is still not broken. She is showing everyone through poetry her strong will, and strong heart, that might bend, but will not break.