A Study Of Baroque Tension In Marvell's Poetry

Andrew Marvell, one of the famous poets in the seventeenth-century England, has seized the critics' attention since the 1920s. Many aspects of his poetry have been dealt with in the last several decades except the Baroque style of his poetry.The word Baroque is derived from barroco which in Portuguese means "irregular pearl". The study of Baroque began since the publication of Heinrich Wolfflin's influential book Renaissance and Baroque in 1888. His research had contributed enormously to the understanding of the later sixteenth and seventeenth-century European architecture. From then on the concept Baroque gradually acquired the universal acceptance and was used to discuss the later sixteenth and seventeenth-century European literature. It has also been applied to the study of the metaphysical poet, Andrew Marvell by a few critics. Nevertheless, articles with a comprehensive study of his Baroque style in the poetry are wanting, which, in turn, makes the present study possible and significant. This is the chapter one.In the chapter two how Baroque came into being is introduced and Baroque can better be defined as a particular frame of mind, or set of attitudes, which differs from the classical and early Renaissance aesthetic model, and is deeply embedded in the later sixteenth and seventeenth-century artistic world. Later on a brief comment of Baroque in the artistic fields in general and in the England verbal arts in particular is given. The aim of this chapter is for the deep understanding of Baroque, which is important for the clear analysis of Marvell's Baroque style.The next chapter illustrates the social and individual factors that together nurtured the Baroque sensibility of Marvell. The seventeenth-century England in which Marvell lived was an extraordinarily unique century in the English history. It experienced the internal trifle of religious rivalry, political upheaval and intellectual confusion; hence, people of that period were more aware of themselves and the world they dwelt in. Marvell the seventeenth-century Englishman was greatly influenced by the social environment. Together with his special experience in the contemporary political stage, Marvell's Baroque sensibility was formed. That was the intense tension in his inner mind which was expressed in his small but brilliant output of poems.The Fourth chapter is the main part in this thesis. In this chapter two aspects of tension are analyzed, namely, the thematic tension and generic tension. The part of thematic tension touches on the tension of poetry caused by the conflict between the spirituality and sensuality in the love poems and the action and withdrawal in the meditative poems. Meanwhile in illustrating this point some cultural background is related so as to deepen the comprehension of it. In the part of generic tension Marvell is proved to be a great master at manipulating different kinds of genres at ease to express his conflicting ideas.Through the above analysis Marvell's Baroque style in the poetry is clearly illustrated. But there is evidence to show that in his lifetime his poem was not published for the public. Marvell's elusiveness is acknowledged. It is justifiable that his poetry can be regarded as a manifestation of his own intense tension in that particular era. The study of his Baroque style in his poetry is just to provide a new perspective to understand this great person and his extraordinary thoughts.