political and pastoral in marvells poetry :: essays research papers

â€Å"A tension between the worlds of political engagement and private retreat† How distinct are the political and the pastoral in Marvell’s poetry The political and the pastoral certainly figures highly in Marvell’s poetry and often the two worlds become intertwined. Indeed, Marvell frequently utilises metaphors of nature to help convey and rationalise his political thoughts and feelings. With particular reference to the ‘mower’ and ‘Cromwell’ poems, I shall explore the relationship between the political and the pastoral in his work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin, in the overtly political poem An Horation Ode upon Cromwell’s return from Ireland, Marvell begins by describing Cromwell emerging from a muses â€Å"shadow†, and â€Å"private gardens, Where he lived reserved and austere†. This, as the critic Friedman asserts, is a typical retreat of â€Å"poetic creativity†, and one often employed by Marvell. Indeed, in A poem upon the death of his late Highnesse the Lord Protector, Marvell presents a young Cromwell spending â€Å"pleasing hours† with his mother. The addition of a private presentation of Cromwell lends him a more human edge and helps us to understand his human weaknesses. In his Horation Ode, Marvell portrays Cromwell as a â€Å"flame of angry heavens† who â€Å"tis madness to resist or blame†. This lends Cromwell a godlike eminence or as Thomas. M. Greene asserts, puts him â€Å"beyond ethical categories†. However, Marvell continues that the â€Å"same arts that did gain a power, must it maintain†, i.e. the â€Å"inglorious arts† of war. The irony of comparing war, something primarily destructive, as an art, highlights the unease and possibly transient nature of Cromwell’s rule. Certainly, the fact that Marvell likens Cromwell to a Falcon, who once â€Å"having kill’d† seeks a â€Å"green bough† to perch on and then â€Å"the falconer has her sure†, shows that although he is strong, he cannot continue forever and will eventually be in some way controlled. Therefore, by utilising the idea of natural retreat, Marvell subtly asserts beneath the grandiloquent verse, the frailty and humanity of Cromwell existence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indeed the idea of the â€Å"green bough†, is a recurring notion in marvels poetry, and is often Connected with thought and retreat. In the epic poem Upon Appleton House Marvell seeks â€Å"sanctuary† in the woodland to â€Å"among the trees and birds confer†. This is something that the critic Friedman asserts as the â€Å"primeval unity of mind and nature†. This is amply supported by the line in Damon The mower, â€Å"My mind was once a true survey†¦ of all these meadows fresh and gay†, and further more