Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes
Explore the life and legacy of Edmund Waller (1606–1687), the English poet and politician whose smooth versification helped shape the heroic couplet. Read his biography, literary contributions, and notable quotes.
Introduction: Who Was Edmund Waller?
Edmund Waller (3 March 1606 – 21 October 1687) was a prominent English poet and politician of the 17th century. While his name is less familiar today than some of his successors, in his own age he was renowned—John Dryden praised him by saying “Mr. Waller reformed our numbers.”
Waller’s contributions lie not only in his poetry, especially his early mastery of the heroic couplet, but also in his long political career through tumultuous periods of English history. His life spanned the reigns of Charles I, the Civil War and Interregnum, Restoration, and the reign of James II. In this article, we will trace his life, examine his poetry and influence, and reflect on enduring lessons from his work and character.
Early Life and Family
Edmund Waller was born on 3 March 1606 at Stocks Place, Coleshill, Buckinghamshire (sometimes given as Coleshill, Hertfordshire in older sources). Robert Waller (a gentleman with landholdings) and Anne Hampden.
His family was well connected: through his mother, he was distantly related to Oliver Cromwell, and also had ties to John Hampden, the Parliamentary leader.
His father died when Edmund was still a child (in 1616), leaving him an estate that made him comfortably well-to-do in later life.
Youth and Education
Waller’s early education included private tutoring, a common route for children of his class in that era. Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, followed by Eton College.
He matriculated at King’s College, Cambridge, though he did not complete a formal degree. Lincoln’s Inn to study law (as was common for gentlemen of his time).
Despite this legal training, Waller’s true inclinations lay in poetry, public life, and parliamentary service. He first entered Parliament in 1624, while still young.
Career and Achievements
Parliamentary Service and Political Life
Waller’s political career was extended and varied. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for multiple constituencies over many years. Ilchester in 1624, followed by terms for Wycombe, Amersham, St Ives, Hastings, and Saltash.
Waller’s political identity shifted over his life. Initially he leaned toward moderate positions—he favored religious toleration and sought a balance between the Crown and Parliament.
But as the Civil War approached, his sympathies moved toward the Royalist side. In 1643, he became involved in a scheme (later called Waller’s Plot) to secure London in support of King Charles I. The conspiracy was discovered; Waller was arrested, confessed, and implicated others to save himself.
Instead of execution, he escaped with a heavy fine and banishment. Meanwhile, several co-conspirators, including his brother-in-law Nathaniel Tomkins, were executed.
Waller lived abroad (in France and Switzerland) until 1651, when Oliver Cromwell (a distant relative) allowed him to return. In the Interregnum period, he tried to reconcile with the new regime—writing a Panegyric to the Lord Protector (Cromwell) in 1655.
With the Restoration in 1660, Charles II returned to the throne. Waller composed “To the King, upon His Majesty’s Happy Return” to mark the occasion.
Later in life, his political activity waned after the death of his second wife (in 1677). By 1685, he was again elected to Parliament (for Saltash).
Literary Work & Poetic Contributions
While Waller’s political life occupies much of his biography, his lasting legacy is in poetry—especially his influence on English poetic form.
Though he circulated poems in manuscript for years, his first authorized edition, Poems, was published in 1645. Second Part of Mr Waller’s Poems (1690) including Divine Poems.
Waller is best known for his lyrical poetry—short, elegant, and often addressed to a beloved figure. His poem “Go, lovely Rose!” remains his most famous poem and is often anthologized.
His poetic hallmark was smooth, regular versification and balance—the kind of refined, harmonious style that moved away from the more jagged lines of the Metaphysical poets. In this way, he helped pave the way for the later dominance of the heroic couplet (a pair of rhymed iambic pentameter lines).
Waller also produced panegyric poems—verses in praise of rulers or events. He composed celebratory works for both Cromwell (during the Interregnum) and Charles II (after the Restoration).
His later Divine Poems show an attempt to engage with religious themes, though critics generally view them as less powerful than his earlier work.
Reception, Decline, and Legacy
In his day, Waller was highly admired. He was once called “the English Vergil of our times,” and his control of form was held up as exemplary.
Critics argue that Waller’s later poetry is less imaginative, more conventional, and overly flattering to patrons.
Historical Milestones & Context
Waller’s life unfolded against a backdrop of major upheaval in English politics, religion, and culture:
-
Personal Rule and early Stuart tensions: Waller’s early career began under Charles I’s reign, before the Personal Rule (when Charles dissolved Parliament). His moderate leanings fit among those who hoped balance might be preserved.
-
Civil War period (1639–1651): The breakdown between King and Parliament forced Waller into difficult positions. His involvement in Waller’s Plot (1643) was a dramatic turning point.
-
Interregnum & Cromwell’s Protectorate: Waller’s return in 1651 and his accommodation of Cromwell’s regime is a striking illustration of adaptation to shifting power.
-
Restoration of Charles II (1660): Waller’s ability to navigate changing allegiances allowed him to resume public life and maintain influence under the restored monarchy.
-
Later 17th-century religious and political contention: Waller witnessed (and sometimes participated in) debates over toleration, the Exclusion Crisis, and shifts in court politics.
Through it all, Waller remained a figure who hoped for moderation and conciliation, though his compromises damaged his reputation.
Personality and Talents
Edmund Waller has often been described as urbane, polished, witty, and socially adept. His gift was style more than raw passion; he had an ear for smoothness, balance, and rhetorical elegance.
He could charm and flatter; the fact that he composed flattering panegyrics to various regimes indicates a flexible, pragmatic personality. But that pragmatism earned him criticism—Samuel Johnson later said Waller “has lost the dignity of virtue” through his opportunism.
As a public speaker and parliamentarian, he was respected for oratory and rhetorical skill—even those who disliked some of his politics acknowledged his polish.
He also appears to have been ambitious and protective of his status, carefully navigating alliances and shifting political winds.
Famous Quotes of Edmund Waller
Here are some of the most memorable lines by Waller, reflecting his style, thought, and poetic voice:
“Go, lovely Rose!
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.”
— “Go, lovely Rose!”
“Stronger by weakness, wiser men become.”
“Tea does our fancy aid,
Repress those vapours which the head invade
And keeps that palace of the soul serene.”
“To love is to believe, to hope, to know;
’Tis an essay, a taste of Heaven below!”
“The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build,
Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.”
“Could we forbear dispute, and practise love,
We should agree as angels do above.”
“Poets lose half the praise they should have got,
Could it be known what they discreetly blot.”
“All human things / Of dearest value hang on slender strings.”
These lines showcase his elegance, his belief in moderation and harmony, and his talent for concise expression.
Lessons from Edmund Waller
-
Form and craft matter
Waller’s legacy lies heavily in his refinement of poetic form. Even if passion or originality is sometimes lacking in his later work, his dedication to balance, clarity, and disciplined versification offers a reminder that technique can shape enduring influence. -
Navigating compromise
Waller’s life shows the complexity of moral and political compromise. His attempts to adapt to changing regimes allowed him survival and influence—but damaged his reputation. The tension between principle and pragmatism is instructive even today. -
Moderation in turbulent times
In an era of extremes, Waller strove (with mixed success) for a moderate course. His aspiration toward toleration and reconciliation offers a model, and a caution, of the difficulties of middle-ground politics. -
The fragility of reputation
Poets and public figures may be admired in their time, but long-term legacy depends on more than praise. Waller’s decline in reputation after his death shows how shifting tastes, values, and judgments reassess even once-celebrated names.
Conclusion
Edmund Waller was a figure of contradictions: a poet of elegance, a politician of opportunism, a moderate in extreme ages, and a favorite in his time whose fame later faded. Yet his contributions to English poetry—particularly in refining the heroic couplet—and his long parliamentary career during one of England’s most turbulent centuries secure him a place in literary and political history.
Though his own poems (beyond “Go, lovely Rose!”) are seldom read today, his influence underlies the craft of later poets. Exploring his life invites us to reflect on how talent, compromise, and context intertwine—and how legacy is as much shaped by successors as by one’s own work.