“A verse may find him who a sermon flies.” It was the New Year’s celebration, and Magdalen Newport Herbert had received two sonnets from her son, George. These were quite unlike those of William Shakespeare, who had published his Sonnets the year earlier. They were far more akin to the work of John Donne, who had dedicated his Holy Sonnets to Magdalen, his patron. They referred not to his mother’s kindness, her beauty, or any other characteristic,