On The Triple Meaning Of Andrew Marvell’s "Garden State"

The term “garden state” is a common term in Andrew Marvell’s studies,and we usually think of it as expressing the ’escapist side’ and the ’ideal side’ of the poet’s mind.However,through an examination of Marvell’s life and a close reading of his poetry,this paper argues that“garden state” has at least three connotations in Marvell’s poetry.The first is that Marvell’s desire to build a “garden” society in reality;the second is that Marvell’s desire to leave the world and retire to an ideal realm(the “garden”)in poems such as “The Garden”,“Upon Appleton House,To My Lord Fairfax” and “Bermudas” is in constant conflict with his desire to enter the world.Thirdly,it is actually nature,not an artificial garden,to which Marville aspires,and therefore ’nature’ would be a more accurate term on this level.This paper is divided into the following sections.The first chapter begins with an account of Marvell’s strong desire for political life,arguing that the “garden” to which he aspires above all is the garden of the present.In the process of realising this ideal,he is constantly in conflict,notably in the “confrontation between Charles I and Cromwell”.The second chapter suggests that what is generally regarded as Marvell’s quest for a “garden state” is merely a facet of his contradictory character and ideas,and that Marvell can never be defined as a mere ’poet who aspires to retreat’.This chapter argues that Marvell did,at some points,show a clear desire to retreat and find spiritual peace,but that this idea of leaving the world was not secure,and that his desire to enter the world and to create a “garden” in the present world was constantly at odds with the idea of “retreat”.In addition,the hurtful imagery that often appears in Marvell’s poetry threatens the peaceful and tranquil “garden state”.The third chapter argues that Marvell,contrary to the fashion of his time,did not prefer artificial gardens to true nature,and that the“garden state” he sought was therefore in a way a “natural state”.His quest was therefore not merely for inner peace in a garden,but for nature as a whole.In this understanding,“nature”is the wider “garden” of all humanity.