Context
Andrew Marvell - 1621 to 1678 - is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. He was a poet, a politician and 鈥 some say 鈥 a spy.
Early life
Marvell was born in Yorkshire in 1621 and was educated in Hull and Cambridge. He entered Trinity College Cambridge when he was just 13 years old. This may sound strange today, but it was not an unusual age to start university in the 17th century.
Mystery
After leaving Cambridge in 1641 he disappears from the records for six years. Some believe he travelled abroad as a tutor to a young gentleman, others that he was spying for the government.
Tutor
Marvell spent most of the 1650s working as a tutor. He did this initially in Yorkshire for the daughter of a retired general who had fought for Oliver Cromwell - the PuritanStrict Protestants who wanted to get rid of ritual in church services and lead a plain and simple life. leader who defeated Charles I during the English Civil WarA conflict in England from 1642 to 1651 between those who supported Parliament (known as Roundheads) and those who supported King Charles I (known as Cavaliers)..
Marvell returned to London in 1653, here he became the tutor of one of Cromwell鈥檚 ward/wardsA person, especially a minor, placed under the control or protection of a guardian or of a court.. It was possibly during this period - though some scholars think it was as early as 1646 - that Marvell wrote To His Coy Mistress.
Politician
On 14 May 1660, Charles II was formally restored to his kingdoms and proclaimed King of Great Britain and Ireland. Throughout the 1650s, Marvell had been associated with the anti-Royalist cause, yet now he served in the new restoration government as MP for Hull.
It was a time of great political turmoil. Marvell - sometimes publically and sometimes through anonymous pamphlets - satireA way of using language to criticise ideas or people through humour. both Charles鈥 court and parliament.
As an MP, he made diplomatic journeys to Holland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark.
Death and legacy
In 1678, Marvell died of a fever. It was rumoured at the time that he had been poisoned by JesuitsMembers of the Society of Jesus, an order of the Catholic Church. In Elizabethan times, they were accused of sending priests to England to try to convert people to Catholicism. 鈥 one of the many groups he had lampoonA piece of writing or a cartoon that publicly criticises the character or behavior of a person or organisation by using ridicule, irony or sarcasm to make them seem stupid..
Today Marvell is considered one of the greatest poets of the 17th century, yet a fraction of his sharp political satire and lyric versePoetry which expresses personal emotions. was published in his lifetime.
A collection of his work did not appear until 1681, three years after his death.
The use of 'conceits'
Writing about various themes - including love - through the use of elaborate conceits was associated with the Metaphysical poetsSeventeenth century English poets who used elaborate metaphors to explore many subjects including love, philosophy, religion, science, politics and mathematics. of the 17th century.
A conceit is a figure of speech where two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similes or metaphors. A conceit develops a comparison which is exceedingly unlikely and often surprising.