Marvell, Andrew (mär`vəl), 1621–78, one of the English metaphysical poets metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure of speech that employs unusual and paradoxical images), a reliance
..... Click the link for more information. . Educated at Cambridge, he worked as a clerk, traveled abroad, and returned to serve as tutor to Lord Fairfax's daughter in Yorkshire. In 1657 he was appointed John Milton's assistant in the Latin secretaryship, and in 1659 he was elected to Parliament, where he served until his death. He was one of the chief wits and satirists of his time as well as being a Puritan and a public defender of individual liberty. Today, however, he is known chiefly for his brilliant lyric poetry, which includes "The Garden," "The Definition of Love," "Bermudas," and "To His Coy Mistress," and for his "Horatian Ode" to Cromwell.

Bibliography

See his poems and letters edited by H. M. Margoliouth (2d ed. 1952); biographies by V. Sackville-West (1929, repr. 1971), J. D. Hunt (1978), and N. Murray (2000); studies by H. E. Toliver (1965), P. Legouis (rev. ed. 1966), J. M. Wallace (1969), D. M. Friedman (1970), R. L. Colie (1971), K. Friedenreich, ed. (1977), E. S. Donno, ed. (1978).

Marvell, Andrew

(born March 31, 1621, Winestead, Yorkshire, Eng.—died Aug. 18, 1678, London) English poet and politician. He was employed as a tutor, including to Oliver Cromwell's ward, before becoming an assistant to John Milton in the foreign office in 1657. From 1659 he held a seat in Parliament. His reputation as one of the finest secular Metaphysical poets (see Metaphysical poetry) is based on a small body of brilliant lyric verse, notably “To His Coy Mistress” (1681) and “The Garden.” Among his other works are classical odes, such as “An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland” (1650); political verse satires opposing the government after the Restoration, such as Last Instructions to a Painter (1667); and prose satires.