A Critical Analysis of the Poetry of Marvell

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Critical Analysis of The Garden

As with many of his poems, Andrew Marvell wrote The Garden to put forward his point of view and then argue it logically. In The Definition of Love, for example, he writes about unrequited passions, insisting that Fate itself acts against true love; in The Garden he takes a similarly pessimistic viewpoint and takes it to its misanthropic limits, attempting to argue that being at one with nature and away from other people is the best way to live.

All poets have traits and habits that define their own style - some more so than others. Marvell's style is particularly recognizable, as he commonly uses several easily identifiable techniques and images. Of the latter, The Garden features many of Marvell's staple ingredients. Central to the entire poem is the idea of pure nature, of a world without the intrusion of mankind: Marvell's own Eden. In his poetry, he takes every opportunity to extol the virtues of a type of hermitage, of being at peace with oneself and the universe as a whole; this can also be seen as central themes in poems...

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