- Born:
- March 31, 1621, Winestead, Yorkshire, England
- Died:
- August 18, 1678, London (aged 57)
- Notable Works:
- “The Rehearsal Transpros’d”
- “To His Coy Mistress”
- Movement / Style:
- Metaphysical poets
Andrew Marvell
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Who was Andrew Marvell?
Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) was an English poet and politician now considered among the best Metaphysical poets.
Marvell served as a tutor for Lord Fairfax's daughter and later for Oliver Cromwell's ward. Although initially against Cromwell's government, Marvell became a Latin secretary in the foreign office and a member of Parliament for Hull until his death, skillfully serving in this role.
After Charles II's restoration in 1660, Marvell wrote political verse satires and prose, favoring religious tolerance and criticizing monarchical power abuse. His lyric poems, especially those written around 1650–53, uniquely combined cavalier grace with Puritanical economy, reflecting the conflicts of his society.
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When and where did Andrew Marvell live?
Andrew Marvell, an English poet, was born on March 31, 1621, in Winestead, Yorkshire, England. He died in London on August 18, 1678.
Marvell's early life included education at Hull grammar school and Trinity College, Cambridge. Later, he served as a tutor in Nun Appleton, Yorkshire, and to Oliver Cromwell's ward. As a member of Parliament for Hull from 1659 until his death, Marvell also worked as a Latin secretary in the foreign office.
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What is Andrew Marvell best known for?
Andrew Marvell, born in 1621, is now esteemed as one of the finest Metaphysical poets. Though his political career initially overshadowed his poetic achievements, the 20th century saw a resurgence in the appreciation of his lyric poems, such as "To His Coy Mistress," now one of the most famous poems in the English language. Marvell's work is diverse, blending Metaphysical conceits with classical and Cavalier elements, and nature poetry reminiscent of Puritan Platonists.
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What are some famous poems written by Andrew Marvell?
Andrew Marvell was an English poet, now considered one of the best Metaphysical poets. Some of his notable poems include:
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"To His Coy Mistress" is a famous poem about a poet urging his mistress to love him before they die.
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"Upon Appleton House" was likely written while Marvell was a tutor to Mary, daughter of Lord Fairfax.
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"The Garden" was also likely written during his time tutoring Mary Fairfax.
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"An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland" showed his growing admiration for Cromwell.
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How did events in England during his lifetime influence Marvell's poetry?
Andrew Marvell navigated England's turbulent times, and his poetry reflects these divisions.
Marvell served as a member of Parliament, and his political views favored religious tolerance and challenged monarchical abuses. After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Marvell turned to writing political verse satires.
His finest works emerged around 1650–1653, during a period of great strain. Marvell's poems often explored the conflicts within society, such as the divide between body and soul, action and contemplation, and Cromwell versus the king. His unique ability to sustain these conflicting ideas through paradox and wit, rather than seeking resolution, became a defining strength in his poetry.
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Why is Andrew Marvell still studied and remembered today?
Andrew Marvell is remembered today as one of the best Metaphysical poets of the 17th century, though his political reputation once overshadowed his poetry. His lyric poems appeal to many readers, and he is noted for combining Cavalier grace with Puritanical economy of statement. His poem, "To His Coy Mistress," is one of the most famous in the English language. Marvell's work sustains conflict through paradox and wit, reflecting the divided mind and societal conflicts of his time.
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Andrew Marvell (born March 31, 1621, Winestead, Yorkshire, England—died August 18, 1678, London) was an English poet whose political reputation overshadowed that of his poetry until the 20th century. He is now considered to be one of the best Metaphysical poets.
Marvell was educated at Hull grammar school and Trinity College, Cambridge, taking a B.A. in 1639. His father’s death in 1641 may have ended Marvell’s promising academic career. He was abroad for at least five years (1642–46), presumably as a tutor. In 1651–52 he was tutor to Mary, daughter of Lord Fairfax, the Parliamentary general, at Nun Appleton, Yorkshire, during which time he probably wrote his notable poems “Upon Appleton House” and “The Garden” as well as his series of Mower poems.
Although earlier opposed to Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth government, he wrote “An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland” (1650), and from 1653 to 1657 he was a tutor to Cromwell’s ward William Dutton. In 1657 he became assistant to John Milton as Latin secretary in the foreign office. “The First Anniversary” (1655) and “On the Death of O.C.” (1659) showed his continued and growing admiration for Cromwell. In 1659 he was elected member of Parliament for Hull, an office he held until his death, serving skillfully and effectively.
After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Marvell turned to political verse satires—the most notable was The Last Instructions to a Painter, against Lord Clarendon, Charles’s lord chancellor—and prose political satire, notably The Rehearsal Transpros’d (1672–73). Marvell is also said to have interceded on behalf of Milton to have him freed from prison in 1660. He wrote a commendatory poem for the second edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost. His political writings favoured the toleration of religious dissent and attacked the abuse of monarchical power.
At Marvell’s death, his housekeeper-servant Mary Palmer claimed to be his widow, although this was undoubtedly a legal fiction. The first publication of his poems in 1681 resulted from a manuscript volume she found among his effects.
While Marvell’s political reputation has faded and his reputation as a satirist is on a par with others of his time, his small body of lyric poems, first recommended in the 19th century by Charles Lamb, has since appealed to many readers, and in the 20th century he came to be considered one of the most notable poets of his century. Marvell was eclectic: his “To His Coy Mistress” is a classic of Metaphysical poetry; the Cromwell odes are the work of a classicist; his attitudes are sometimes those of the elegant Cavalier poets; and his nature poems resemble those of the Puritan Platonists. In “To His Coy Mistress,” which is one of the most famous poems in the English language, the impatient poet urges his mistress to abandon her false modesty and submit to his embraces before time and death rob them of the opportunity to love:
Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.…
But at my back I always hear
Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.…
The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.…