History Creator / AndrewMarvell

But Marvell's place in the history of English literature makes him much more than an important footnote. He wrote poetry as a sideline, showing a gift for snappy couplets and appealing symbolism. He also wrote {{satire}}s and influential political pamphlets. Despite his talent for survival, Marvell was much, much better than an opportunist creep; some of his prose works were attacks on the corruption of the court and the king's taste for power and Catholic sympathies -- dangerous enough stuff that [[AnonymousAuthor they could only appear anonymously]] until Marvell's death. He seems to have been a genuine patriot and a good representative for his constituency in parliament. He died suddenly in 1678, almost certainly of natural causes, though gossip of the time suggested that, as he had recently satirised the Jesuits, he must have been poisoned by an EvilJesuit.

Marvell's reputation was somewhat overshadowed for a few centuries by some of his contemporaries such as Milton and Creator/JohnDonne. He was rediscovered in the 20th century, notably by Creator/TSEliot, who rated Marvell highly. His most famous poem, [[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress "To His Coy Mistress",]] is pretty much the TropeCodifier for the more philosophical sort of SeductionLyric, and contains a bunch of phrases that are hugely quotable, forever appearing in [[LiteraryAllusionTitle titles]] and epigraphs; ''"Had we but world enough and time", "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow", "But at my back I always hear / Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near; / And yonder all before us lie / Deserts of vast eternity", [[MustNotDieAVirgin "The grave’s a fine and private place, / But none, I think, do there embrace."]]'' His pamphlets are also of interest to historians interested in period political thought.

Marvell's reputation was somewhat overshadowed for a few centuries by some of his contemporaries such as Milton and Creator/JohnDonne. He was rediscovered in the 20th century, notably by Creator/TSEliot, who rated Marvell highly. His most famous poem, [[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress "To His Coy Mistress",]] is pretty much the TropeCodifier for the more philosophical sort of SeductionLyric, and contains a bunch of phrases that are hugely quotable, forever appearing in [[LiteraryAllusionTitle titles]] and epigraphs; ''"Had we but world enough and time", "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow", "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."'' His pamphlets are also of interest to historians interested in period political thought.

Marvell was not only a politician, but evidently a smart one. When UsefulNotes/CharlesII was restored to the throne, Marvell not only kept his government position -- he showed that he had enough clout to petition for the government not to punish Milton for ''his'' work for Parliament. As Milton had written against UsefulNotes/CharlesI, and Parliamentarians involved in his execution were suffering his son's savage revenge, it's entirely possible that Marvell literally saved Milton's neck, thereby enabling ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' to be written.

But Marvell's place in the history of English literature makes him much more than an important footnote. He wrote poetry as a sideline, showing a gift for snappy couplets and appealing symbolism. He also wrote {{satire}}s and influential political pamphlets. Despite his talent for survival, Marvell was much, much better than an opportunist creep; some of his prose works were attacks on the corruption of the court and the king's taste for power and Catholic sympathies -- dangerous enough stuff that they could only appear anonymously until Marvell's death. He seems to have been a genuine patriot and a good representative for his constituency in parliament. He died suddenly in 1678, almost certainly of natural causes, though gossip of the time suggested that, as he had recently satirised the Jesuits, he must have been poisoned by an EvilJesuit.

Marvell was not only a politician, but evidently a smart one. When UsefulNotes/CharlesII was restored to the throne, he not only kept his government position -- he showed that he had enough clout to petition for the government not to punish Milton for ''his'' work for Parliament. As Milton had written against UsefulNotes/CharlesI, and Parliamentarians involved in his execution were suffering his son's savage revenge, it's entirely possible that Marvell literally saved Milton's neck, thereby enabling ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' to be written.

But Marvell's place in the history of English literature makes him much more than an important footnote. He wrote poetry as a sideline, showing a gift for snappy couplets and appealing symbolism. He also wrote satires and influential political pamphlets. Despite his talent for survival, Marvell was much, much better than an opportunist creep; some of his prose works were attacks on the corruption of the court and the king's taste for power and Catholic sympathies -- dangerous enough stuff that they could only appear anonymously until Marvell's death. He seems to have been a genuine patriot and a good representative for his constituency in parliament. He died suddenly in 1678, almost certainly of natural causes, though gossip of the time suggested that, as he had recently satirised the Jesuits, he must have been poisoned by an EvilJesuit.

Marvell's reputation was somewhat overshadowed for a few centuries by some of his contemporaries such as Milton and Creator/JohnDonne. He was rediscovered in the 20th century, notably by Creator/TSEliot, who rated Marvell highly. His most famous poem, [[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress "To His Coy Mistress",]] is pretty much the TropeCodifier for the more philosophical sort of SeductionLyric, and contains a bunch of phrases that are hugely quotable, forever appearing in titles and epigraphs; ''"Had we but world enough and time", "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow", "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."'' His pamphlets are also of interest to historians interested in period political thought.

Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) was an English poet, writer, and politician. Born in Yorkshire, the son of a clergyman, he studied at [[UsefulNotes/Oxbridge Cambridge University]] before spending time on the continent, which seems to have put him out of the country when the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar blew up. He made his way home, and joined the Parliamentary side, if only by default when he took jobs as a tutor in the households of various leading Parliamentarians, and then a government job working with Creator/JohnMilton. He eventually also became a Member of Parliament.

But Marvell's place in the history of English literature makes him more than an important footnote. He wrote poetry as a sideline, showing a gift for snappy couplets and appealing symbolism. He also wrote satires and influential political pamphlets. Despite his talent for survival, Marvell was much more than an opportunist creep; some of his prose works were attacks on the corruption of the court and the king's taste for power and Catholic sympathies -- dangerous enough stuff that they could only appear anonymously until Marvell's death. He seems to have been a genuine patriot and a good representative for his constituency in parliament.