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Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell lived through some of the most momentous events in English history, but his poetry is detached and private, mostly lyrical, strikingly original in its combining of existing traditions, and seemingly untouched for the most part by what was happening around him. He traveled on the
continent, worked for the government of Oliver Cromwell, and later acted as a Member of Parliament for Hull after the Restoration of Charles II.
This new selection of Marvell's verse, fully annotated for the student and general reader, includes the political and satiric verses for which he was primarily remembered in the century after his death, but accords pride of place to Marvel's finest achievement--his marvelous lyric poetry.
continent, worked for the government of Oliver Cromwell, and later acted as a Member of Parliament for Hull after the Restoration of Charles II.
This new selection of Marvell's verse, fully annotated for the student and general reader, includes the political and satiric verses for which he was primarily remembered in the century after his death, but accords pride of place to Marvel's finest achievement--his marvelous lyric poetry.
- GenresPoetry
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 1991
About the author
Andrew Marvell
314 books86 followersFrequently satirical work of English metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell includes "To His Coy Mistress" and "The Definition of Love," both published posthumously.
A clergyman fathered Andrew Marvell, a parliamentarian. John Donne and George Herbert associated him. He befriended John Milton, a colleague.
The family moved to Hull, where people appointed his father as lecturer at church of Holy Trinity, and where grammar school educated the young Marvell. A secondary school in the city is now named after him.
He most famously composed The Garden , An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland , and the Country House Poem , Upon Appleton House .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_...
A clergyman fathered Andrew Marvell, a parliamentarian. John Donne and George Herbert associated him. He befriended John Milton, a colleague.
The family moved to Hull, where people appointed his father as lecturer at church of Holy Trinity, and where grammar school educated the young Marvell. A secondary school in the city is now named after him.
He most famously composed The Garden , An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland , and the Country House Poem , Upon Appleton House .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 2, 2024
Early poems in the Everyman’s selection of Andrew Marvell’s poem might suggest that the reader will struggle more with Marvell’s poetry than is actually the case. In fact Marvell is an extraordinarily accessible 17th-century poet. This is all the more impressive since so few poets of the era are easy to read.
If you can work your way through the poems, they give a good insight into a key theme of Marvell’s personal poetry. They concern the clash between the needs of the soul and the body. Marvell was a religious man, but clearly a man who struggled with his sexuality (in more ways than one, or so some critics suggest). In these poems, sometimes the spiritual needs win out, and sometimes the carnal instincts triumph.
That is the case in Marvell’s most famous poem, and a personal favourite of mine, To His Coy Mistress. Here a lover is trying to seduce a woman who remains coldly virginal. Some critics take the poem seriously but it is better appreciated as a brilliantly witty literary exercise.
I doubt any woman would be seduced by these arguments, but the beautiful verse and memorable phrases would be more likely to have an aphrodisiac effect. “Had we but world enough and time…” How often have I quoted that one? “The grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace.” “But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.” All Marvell’s narrator is doing is trying to get someone to have sex with him, but has a poem ever been more sublime?
Marvell’s most famous poem celebrates the body over the soul, but that is not the case in all his other poems. Even when the lover has a chance of consummation, or at least a romantic attachment, there is often a lingering guilt attached to it.
This might, if some commentators are correct, be down to Marvell’s sexual orientation. It is not known if he had homosexual affairs, but some writers believe that Marvell was gay. This might explain why sex is regarded with lust and shame in equal measures.
However we must always be careful with poetry of this age. As Gordon Campbell’s introduction reminds us, this was not an age of deeply heartfelt personal poetry. Poems were witty exercises in good writing, and not necessarily representative of what the writer meant.
So while we cannot pin down a specific message about love or sex in Marvell, we can at least notice certain recurring concerns in what he writes – a conflict between his religious ideals and his carnal needs.
In the more conspicuously public poems, Marvell proves even more slippery. He was a monarchist under Charles I, an enthusiastic admirer of Oliver Cromwell during the Republic, and a monarchist again under Charles II. Like Dryden, his political views bent with the prevailing government of the time, and this reminds us how little it matters who is in power. The nation can soon be prevailed upon to forget past governments and made to get behind a new regime without much trouble.
I am less admiring of public poems that are written in praise of individuals. I do not know who these people are, and doubt they are worthy of the long encomiums that poets dedicate to them. When the subject of the poem is the country’s leader, they are particularly suspect. Cromwell is even referred to as ‘The Late Highness’, a title normally associated with monarchs.
Also what would Irish people make of Marvell praising Cromwell for his suppression of their people? The Irish considers Cromwell to have been an unusually brutal leader who treated them badly. Cromwell’s victory over the Irish was not as complete as Marvell made it sound either.
My only regret with this small selection is that we see none of Marvell’s poetry after the Restoration. While Marvell did make matters right with Charles II, he was not a total lackey and wrote satirical poetry about the Court. It would have been interesting to read some of this. I am relieved not to read Marvell’s more xenophobic poetry against the Dutch though.
This is a good selection for getting acquainted with Marvell, an under-rated poet who received no attention until the twentieth-century. More modest and unassuming than many poets, Marvell has a wonderful mastery of rhythm, and the ability to write simple but skilful verse.
Like the narrator of To His Coy Mistress, I wish I had more time to devote to Marvell in order to fully appreciate him. A hundred years should go to praise his political verse. Two hundred to adore each love poem, but thirty thousand to the rest. Had I but world enough and time I would happily spend my millennia doing so.
If you can work your way through the poems, they give a good insight into a key theme of Marvell’s personal poetry. They concern the clash between the needs of the soul and the body. Marvell was a religious man, but clearly a man who struggled with his sexuality (in more ways than one, or so some critics suggest). In these poems, sometimes the spiritual needs win out, and sometimes the carnal instincts triumph.
That is the case in Marvell’s most famous poem, and a personal favourite of mine, To His Coy Mistress. Here a lover is trying to seduce a woman who remains coldly virginal. Some critics take the poem seriously but it is better appreciated as a brilliantly witty literary exercise.
I doubt any woman would be seduced by these arguments, but the beautiful verse and memorable phrases would be more likely to have an aphrodisiac effect. “Had we but world enough and time…” How often have I quoted that one? “The grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace.” “But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.” All Marvell’s narrator is doing is trying to get someone to have sex with him, but has a poem ever been more sublime?
Marvell’s most famous poem celebrates the body over the soul, but that is not the case in all his other poems. Even when the lover has a chance of consummation, or at least a romantic attachment, there is often a lingering guilt attached to it.
This might, if some commentators are correct, be down to Marvell’s sexual orientation. It is not known if he had homosexual affairs, but some writers believe that Marvell was gay. This might explain why sex is regarded with lust and shame in equal measures.
However we must always be careful with poetry of this age. As Gordon Campbell’s introduction reminds us, this was not an age of deeply heartfelt personal poetry. Poems were witty exercises in good writing, and not necessarily representative of what the writer meant.
So while we cannot pin down a specific message about love or sex in Marvell, we can at least notice certain recurring concerns in what he writes – a conflict between his religious ideals and his carnal needs.
In the more conspicuously public poems, Marvell proves even more slippery. He was a monarchist under Charles I, an enthusiastic admirer of Oliver Cromwell during the Republic, and a monarchist again under Charles II. Like Dryden, his political views bent with the prevailing government of the time, and this reminds us how little it matters who is in power. The nation can soon be prevailed upon to forget past governments and made to get behind a new regime without much trouble.
I am less admiring of public poems that are written in praise of individuals. I do not know who these people are, and doubt they are worthy of the long encomiums that poets dedicate to them. When the subject of the poem is the country’s leader, they are particularly suspect. Cromwell is even referred to as ‘The Late Highness’, a title normally associated with monarchs.
Also what would Irish people make of Marvell praising Cromwell for his suppression of their people? The Irish considers Cromwell to have been an unusually brutal leader who treated them badly. Cromwell’s victory over the Irish was not as complete as Marvell made it sound either.
My only regret with this small selection is that we see none of Marvell’s poetry after the Restoration. While Marvell did make matters right with Charles II, he was not a total lackey and wrote satirical poetry about the Court. It would have been interesting to read some of this. I am relieved not to read Marvell’s more xenophobic poetry against the Dutch though.
This is a good selection for getting acquainted with Marvell, an under-rated poet who received no attention until the twentieth-century. More modest and unassuming than many poets, Marvell has a wonderful mastery of rhythm, and the ability to write simple but skilful verse.
Like the narrator of To His Coy Mistress, I wish I had more time to devote to Marvell in order to fully appreciate him. A hundred years should go to praise his political verse. Two hundred to adore each love poem, but thirty thousand to the rest. Had I but world enough and time I would happily spend my millennia doing so.
January 16, 2019
Delphi did a good job, but the poetry wasn't for me
I enjoyed reading the metaphysical poets, namely John Donne and Thomas Traherne. I got this collection to see how I liked Marvell. To begin with Delphi has always done a good job in their collections, and to their credit this was well put together. However I found that much of the poetry itself was frustrating to read and something that I couldn't relate to, especially his later poetry. To be sure, there were some good poems, however too many of the poems had a meandering pointless feel to me. My goal is to read for pleasure, not for duty, and I felt that some of the poems were tedious to wade through. I'm willing to admit that maybe I can't appreciate some of the context of why these poems were written the way they were, and maybe I just don't fully understand the style, however I felt the actual poetry was a mixed bag.
I enjoyed reading the metaphysical poets, namely John Donne and Thomas Traherne. I got this collection to see how I liked Marvell. To begin with Delphi has always done a good job in their collections, and to their credit this was well put together. However I found that much of the poetry itself was frustrating to read and something that I couldn't relate to, especially his later poetry. To be sure, there were some good poems, however too many of the poems had a meandering pointless feel to me. My goal is to read for pleasure, not for duty, and I felt that some of the poems were tedious to wade through. I'm willing to admit that maybe I can't appreciate some of the context of why these poems were written the way they were, and maybe I just don't fully understand the style, however I felt the actual poetry was a mixed bag.
July 10, 2022
Long term reading project - Marvell deserves protracted consideration. I particularly recommend the Mower Sequence, Upon Appleton House and the Cromwell poems BIG TIME POET
December 31, 2017
Taken 3 months but I have made it through...apart from "To his coy mistress" nothing really stood out!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews