The Poems Of Andrew Marvell

The Poems of Andrew Marvell With an introduction and notes by G.A. Aitken Letters Translated by A. B Grosart Most of Marvell's poems on political subjects doubtless appeared as broadsides or pamphlets at the time they were written; but of these original issues one only is known to have survived. "The Character of Holland," written in 1653, printed early, probably, in that year, appears to have been reprinted, in folio, in 1665, with the omission of the latter portion, in which praise was given to Blake and other commanders of the Commonwealth. This mutilated version was again printed, in quarto, in 1672. "The first Anniversary of the Government under his Highness the Lord Protector" was printed, in quarto, by Thomas Newcomb, London, in 1665. "Advice to a Painter" was printed as a four-page folio sheet, without date, but apparently in 1679, after Marvell's death. It is not necessary to justify any effort to make Marvell's Poems more widely known. The sole object of this Preface is to acknowledge my indebtedness to my predecessors, who have, in a greater or less degree, done good service by keeping the poet's name and character in the minds of his countrymen. In 1681, more than two years after Marvell's death, his widow published a collection of his miscellaneous poems. Nearly half a century later Cooke brought out an edition which included the political satires. These pieces could not, of course, be given in the volume of 1681, but they had been printed among other State Poems after the Revolution. Another half century passed before Thompson published an edition of the whole of Marvell's works. Thompson was a Hull captain, and a connection of the poet's family, filled with enthusiasm for his subject, but wanting in the critical training necessary for complete success. In spite, however, of all his shortcomings, it is not to be forgotten that we owe to him some of Marvell's finest poems, and that he was the first to print a large number of Marvell's letters, which are of great assistance in studying his life and writings. Errors in the text grew in number in subsequent cheap editions of the poems, until, in 1872, a century after Thompson, and when I was a scholar at the old Granmiar School at Hull which claimed Marvell as one of its most distinguished pupils, Dr. Grosart published the first volume of a limited edition of Marvell's works. It may be said that that edition was the first in which any serious attempt was made to give an accurate text, or to explain the constant allusions to contemporary events. But greatly as I have been indebted to Dr. Grosarfs work, much remained to be done. Many allusions remained unexplained, while some of the notes upon historical events or persons were written under misapprehension, and the errors in identification led to mistakes in the dating of the poems. In so difficult a field it is not probable that I have entirely escaped pitfalls; and I do not forget that it is far easier to correct others than to be a pioneer.

The latest edition to the Longman Annotated English Poets series is a complete works of the seventeenth century poet, Andrew Marvell. Marvell's poetry is renowned for its irony, subtlety and allusiveness and Nigel Smith shows how such literary qualities were developed and the various ways in which the complexity of meanings may be interpreted. The aim of this book is to present through commentary and annotation, a full historical and literary context to Marvell's poetry and it does so in its comprehensive and accurately balanced scholarship.

He is known chiefly for his brilliant lyric poems, including "The Garden," "The Definition of Love," "Bermudas," "To His Coy Mistress," and the "Horatian Ode" to Cromwell. Marvell's work is marked by extraordinary variety, ranging from incomparable lyric explorations of the inner life to satiric poems on the famous men and important issues of his time-one of the most politically volatile epochs in England's history. From the lover's famous admonition, "Had we but World enough, and Time, / This coyness, Lady, were no crime," to the image of the solitary poet "Annihilating all that's made / To a green Thought in a green Shade," Marvell's poetry has earned a permanent place in the canon and in the hearts of poetry lovers.

Andrew Marvell is an intriguing personality, variously identified as a patriot & a spy, a conspirator, closet homosexual, father of the liberal tradition, incendiary satirical pamphleteer & freethinker.

An enigmatic men, whose poems balance opposing principles-Royalism and Republicanism, spirituality and sexuality.

A comprehensive edition of one of America's greatest poets, this collection draws from her four published volumes, together with 50 uncollected works and translations of Octavio Paz, Max Jacob and others.

The English metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell is most commonly associated with his contemporaries, John Donne, George Herbert, and his colleague and friend, John Milton. His most famous poem "To His Coy Mistress" is a seductive chant to a would-be lover to seize the moment. "The Garden" is an ode to the tranquility of a retirement from public life. Marvell, who was himself a politician, opines for the simpler life of the garden. Also included in this collection are "An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland," "The Mower's Song" and the country house poem "Upon Appleton House." The entire corpus of Marvell's poetry is brought together here in this edition of "The Complete Poems of Andrew Marvell," which has been edited with a memorial introduction by Rev. Alexander B. Grosart. T. S. Eliot wrote of Marvell's work that "it is more than a technical accomplishment, or the vocabulary and syntax of an epoch; it is what we have designated tentatively as wit, a tough reasonableness beneath the slight lyric grace."

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.