Classical Themes in the Non-Satiric Poetry of Andrew Marvell

Abstract

Chapter 1 examines the grammar school curriculum in the early seventeenth century, paying special attention to the classical texts usually taught and to the normal pedagogic methods used. It also gives an account of the courses of study at Trinity College, Cambridge in the period. Chapter 2 discusses Marvell's Latin poetry, and includes a detailed analysis of those poems which have a close relation to the English lyrics. Chapter 3 considers 'To His Coy Mistress' in the context of the carpe diem tradition, suggesting that a particular affinity exists between Marvell's poem and the Greek amatory epigram, and also traces Lucretian influence on its metaphors and language. Chapter k discusses 'The Nymph complaining' as a pet lament which is in the tradition of the Greek Anthology, Book VII, and of neo-Latin pet poetry, but which also echoes the ecphrastic epigram, in its concentration on the aesthetic object. Chapter 5 analyses 'The Garden' as a version of the Horatian retreat poem which is much altered, chiefly by Marvell's use of Ovidian allusion and Neoplatonic metaphors and ideas. Chapter 6 examines the relation of 'Damon the Mower' and 'The Mower's Song'to the pastoral complaint in classical literature, and demonstrates the pervasiveness of the influence of Pliny's Natural History on 'The Mower against Gardens'. Chapter 7 argues that the 'Horatian Ode' is a meditation on fate and human motivation in the manner of Lucan, and that Horatian influence is slighter than has usually been thought.