Marvell, Andrew
Marvell, Andrew (1621–78). Satirist and poet. Son of a Yorkshire clergyman, Cambridge-educated with linguistic skills acquired from four years in Europe, Marvell tutored Lord Fairfax's daughter (when he wrote his best poetry) and a ward of Cromwell's before being eventually appointed (1657) as assistant in the Latin secretaryship to Milton, whom he later defended vigorously. Despite having served the Protectorate, he was able to accept the Restoration, though his forceful political tracts (some prudently anonymous) criticized corrupt and profligate government and railed at religious intolerance. He was elected MP for Hull in 1659 but, despite being moderately active in Parliament, was ineffective in the country party, though he continued to watch his constituents' interests until death from inappropriate treatment for an ague. Regarded by contemporaries as a political satirist, Marvell is now generally remembered as a metaphysical poet, eclectic but lyrical and delighting in nature (Miscellaneous Poems, posthumously 1681).
A. S. Hargreaves
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Marvell, Andrew
