One of the great English poets and a late metaphysical poet, Andrew Marvell (1621-1678), was a 17th-century politician and satirist. During the late years of his life from 1659-1678, Marvell was an active member of the House of Commons. He was also a close companion of John Milton in the Commonwealth era.
Although Marvell’s political career dominated his poetic life in the contemporary era, he inevitably gained the status of one of the great Metaphysical poets in the modern period. His poetry consists of metaphors, conceits, and allusive style of work.
To elaborate, the metaphysical traits in Marvell’s work are ambiguity in words, complex metaphors, contradictions, allegorical interpretations, twists and turns of the opinion and argument, scientific vocabulary, and subtle style of the language. For example, the poems, “To His Coy Mistress” and “The Garden” represent Marvell’s significant writing style of complex thought, intermixed allusions, and moral ambiguity.
He wrote on a wide range of topics about many social matters. For example, he composed works based on personal and political satires i.e. “The Character of Holland” and “Flecknoe”. Likewise, there is a place for the emotion of love in his writing, e.g. “To His Coy Mistress”.
He also recounts political events in his poems. For example, Marvell wrote a “Horatian Ode” upon ‘Cromwell’s Return from England’. Likewise, he has portrayed the aristocratic class and their living conditions in contemporary times, e.g. “The Garden” and “Upon Appleton House”.
Marvell achieved a recognizable position in literary history after his death. He became a great poet and critical figure in the 20th century with Eliot’s defense of the metaphysical form of poetry. Another reason for his interesting figure for critics and historians is Marvell’s obscure personal life and lack of approved information about him.
A Short Biography of Andrew Marvell
The birth of Andrew Marvell took place in Winestead-in-Holderness, Yorkshire on 31st-March 1621. Marvell’s father, Andrew Marvell, was a churchman. The family got shifted to Kingston upon Hull upon his father’s appointment at Holy Trinity School. Marvell was admitted to Hull Grammar School in the town.
When he turned 13, Marvell got BA admission in Trinity College, Cambridge, and received the degree in 1639. However, calamity fell upon his life when Marvell’s father drowned in 1641. He left his master’s degree; however, his history of that era is quite unclear.
In the Civil War around 1642-1647, Marvell probably traveled continental Europe and served as a private tutor to Mary Fairfax, an aristocratic daughter also. Some said that he became a government agent. Others thought of him to be avoiding war. It is reported that he met Villiers brothers, Duke of Buckingham, and Lord Francis in Rome probably in 1645.
He also met Robert Flecknoe who became an inspiration for his later poem “Flecknoe”. Also, from these travels, Marvell received the knowledge of some languages i.e. Spanish, French, and Italian, according to Milton. In this vague period of Marvell’s disappearance, he probably wrote his best literary works.
He also served in the public sector for some part of his life. During that era, the political section of England faced turbulence and tensions. This tension in the parliament and judicial system was largely criticized by Marvell because of his public experience.
He remained in the political sector for about two decades. Later, he died due to a fever at the age of 67 on 16 August 1678. However, it was speculated that the Jesuits killed him with poison, but this claim had no evidence. Marvell’s resting place lies in London in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields.
In 1681, Marvell’s nephew published his collection of poems Miscellaneous Poems. The preface of that book was written by Marvell’s housekeeper with the name “Mary Marvell”. She claimed to be his widow probably to protect his property from being given to the debtors.
Marvell’s Poetic Literary Career
Political Influence
In the early stages of Marvell’s life, he wrote poems while in Cambridge. Even from the beginning of his literary career, Marvell took great interest in the political conditions of the era. For instance, he focused on the outbreak of the plague and also commemorated the birth of King Charles-I’s son. After the execution of Charles-I in 1649, Marvell wrote “An Horatian Ode” about Cromwell’s return to England in 1650.
Life in Appleton
In that era, he served as a tutor to Mary, daughter of Lord Fairfax when he was living at Nun Appleton Hall. There, he wrote, “Upon Appleton House, To My Lord Fairfax” and another important poem “To His Coy Mistress”, his most celebrated poem.
In 1652, it was the time of the First Anglo-Dutch War. In the wartime, he turned towards satire and wrote “Character of Holland”. In 1658, Oliver Cromwell died and was succeeded by his son Richard. Marvell was chosen as a Member of Parliament in 1659. From that time, he gained a firm place in the political section of his society.
Restoration
After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Marvell helped his friend Milton to prevent him from being executed by the monarch for writing against the absolute government. He even wrote a poem for Milton’s “Paradise Lost” that was added in its preface. The poem was “On Mr. Milton’s Paradise Lost”.
When Milton was elected in the parliament again in 1661, he wrote “Last Instructions to a Painter”. It was the longest poem about the corruption in politics that led to the failure of England in the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
Until his death in 1978, Marvell served as the agent for Hull Trinity School in London. He went on two government missions to the Dutch Republic and Russia, Denmark, and Sweden.
Marvell’s Prose
Marvell’s prose works are mostly satirical and encompass critical dissection of the corruption and biased political agendas of the contemporary era. In certain anonymous works, he criticized Roman Catholic views and monarchy. He even defended Puritan dissents though he was not a Puritan.
Satire
For instance, Marvell satirized Samuel Parker in “The Rehearsal Transpros’d” in 1672 and 1673. In 1676, “The Divine in Mode” was published that criticized the bigotry in the Church of England. Likewise, in 1677, Marvel wrote “An Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government in England”, a pamphlet that censures the influence of Catholicism and France on English court.
Andrew Marvell’s Literary Style
Ambiguity
Marvell’s writing style is marked with a stark ambiguity in meaning and language. According to George deforest Lord in his introduction to Andrew Marvell: A Collection of Critical Essays in 1968, the ambiguity for Andrew Marvell is not a characteristic of writing style. It is rather a way of feeling and thinking that is hidden in Marvell’s sensibility of the human condition.
Marvell’s ambiguity helps the readers understand both sides of a political or social problem. It is also an indication of Marvell’s recognition of every aspect of an issue that kept him free from partiality. All of Marvell’s poetry has an underlying ambiguity and has a central omnipresence concern.
Historical Influence
Marvell’s style is critically influenced by his experience of other languages and historical aspects of the time. His “The Garden” and “On a Drop of Dew” have original equivalents in Latin that provide a stark debate on the drafting process of the poems in the English language before getting a final finished form.
Likewise, ‘An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland’ imitates the ancient tradition of Latin poet Horace’s ode style. Horatian odes were in the form of appraisal of the military heroes and their struggles similar to Marvell’s celebration of Oliver Cromwell’s return.
Also, in his other work, “The Nymph Complaining for the Death of Her Fawn” in which a young lady laments the demise of her pet, draws from the Latin mock-heroic model.
Oppositions
Another feature of Marvell’s writing style is his use of contradictions and opposite propositions. One of the major oppositions is the philosophy of body and soul contradiction. Also, in “To His Coy Mistress” the poet moves between opposite propositions to reach a logical conclusion.
Straightforwardness
Marvell’s poetry style is more sharp and satirical in its wit. He is straightforward and blunt when it comes to expressing the exact point of view. For example, in the most famous poem of Marvell “To His Coy Mistress”, the lover impatiently urges his beloved to abandon her shyness and accept his love before the arrival of death. In a way, Marvell’s satire on the corruption of the church and his defense of religious and political liberty proved him a courageous and patriotic political man of letters.
Allusions
The works of Marvell also refer to various allusions from history and classical myths. For example, “To His Coy Mistress” is full of classical Greek myths. It refers to Noah’s flood, Apollo’s chariot, river Humber, etc. Likewise, in “The Garden”, there are classical myths and Neo-platonic references.
Honor
Although Andrew Marvell was one of the notable writers during his lifetime, he gained distinguished recognition and fame after his death. In the 19-20 century, with the shift of concentration towards lyric poetry and metaphysical works, Marvell was regarded as one of the greatest poets of the metaphysical era. He is inevitably considered as a beautiful poet of the 17th century.
Themes in Andrew Marvell’s Writings
Body and Soul Conflict
In Marvell’s poetry, there is a continual clash between the body and soul. The concept of the difference between the body and soul is an ancient Western tradition. It traces back to Socratic and Platonic tradition. The classics thought that soul is permanent and the body is temporary. This permanence of soul was revived during the Renaissance period.
Marvell’s poems represent the main theme of body and inner soul clash e.g. “The Garden” and “The Definition of Love”. For instance, there is a pursuit to reconcile worldly pleasures with spiritualism. Also, “A Dialogue between the Resolved Soul and Created Pleasure” and “A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body” are overtly religious poems about the body and soul quest.
Effect of Political Conditions
Likewise, Marvell’s portrays the political conditions of contemporary times in his poems. For instance, he discusses the monarchy of Charles-I, his execution, the Civil Wars, the restoration of Charles-II, and the return of Oliver Cromwell from Ireland.
For example, ‘An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland’ is a political poem in which Marvell sympathizes with the demise of Charles-I. It also attempts to incorporate the contemporary political setup in a classic ode.
Metaphysical Elements
Marvell is significantly one of the notable metaphysical poets. It is due to his use of stretched conceits, carpe diem theme, and the refined use of wit. For example, in “To His Coy Mistress”, Marvell uses the elaborated metaphor of “vegetable love” of the lover who could woo his beloved for centuries if he were immortal.
Likewise, in the poem “The Coronet” Marvell stretches the subjects of the shepherd’s weaving of a crown and the discussion about the poem itself throughout the poem. Similarly, in “The Definition of Love”, Marvell wanders through different explanations of love in different stanzas and then combines them.
Three Parts of Human Soul
Another significant feature of Marvell’s poetry is that it divides the human soul into three parts. Marvell takes this idea from Aristotle. For him, the three types of souls exist in different creatures. For instance, the nutritive soul lies in humans, plants, and animals. The sensitive soul exists in emotional beings and in those creatures that sense things. Third, the rational soul is a unique property of human beings only.
In this way, he likens humans to animals and other beings, however, he differs them from nature and everything else in their rational thoughts.
Scientific Revolution
As it was the time of scientific advancements and religious decline. Many poets of the time used scientific themes in their works and gave rational arguments and thoughts e.g. John Donne. Marvell also proved his point through scientific examples and arguments. For instance, in “The Definition of Love”, he compares the idea of love and its intensity to the stars and the revolution of planets. Likewise, in “The Garden”, Marvell suggests new vital concepts that negate the ancient world’s models.
Challenge to the Social Hierarchy
In the 16th century, there was an order of “Great Chain of Being” in which God was at the top of the hierarchy followed by angels. The living beings were divided among lower hierarchical orders. The inanimate creatures were the lowest. In this way, the monarch government was in the same mode of order in which the king and queen were supreme. The aristocracy was second to them and all others were lower people.
However, the Civil Wars and political turbulence challenged this order. Marvell’s representation of the Civil Wars directly challenges the idea of the “Great Chain of Being” and the supremacy of the monarchy. In 1677, “An Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government in England” was published anonymously that attacked the absolute power of the monarchy.
The Four Humors
Furthermore, Marvell’s poetry reflects on the theme of the construction of the four humors. The classical belief of the four humors was put forth by a Greek physician Galen. According to him, the human body consists of four substances i.e. blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Marvell’s use of the term “humour” in his poetry refers to both the Galenic model of the humors and to the individual temperaments that correspond to these humors.
Marvell’s writing encompasses a wide range of aspects. All of his different discussed poems include biographical, historical, literary, critical, social, and humanistic perspectives.