«The grave's a fine and private place, But none I think do there embrace.» (from "To His Coy Mistress") ~ «My love is of a birth as rare As 'tis for object strange and high: It was begotten by Despair Upon Impossibility.» (from "The Definition of Love") ~ #Finished: #ToHisCoyMistressAndOtherPoems by #AndrewMarvell • Rating: 8/10 • Favourite poems: "#ToHisCoyMistress"; "#TheDefinitionOfLove"; "#DamonTheMower"; "#OnADropOfDew"; "#TheGarden"; #TheCoronet; #TheMowersSong; #TheGallery; #TheMatch; #ADialogueBetweenSoulAndBody; #Bermudas • This collection includes much of the poetry from the posthumously published "#MiscellaneousPoems" (1681), the first collected edition of Marvell's poetry. I have read "To His Coy Mistress" and "The Definition of Love" long before this book, so those two were re-readings. The longest poem in the collection is "#UponAppletonHouse", about the features and history of an estate, consisting of 97 octaves and various episodes, some of which are full of Biblical and historical references, the meanings of which the reader should know better to understand the poem better. Marvell is famous for being a Metaphysical poet and therefore used extended metaphors and "conceits", comparing two unlike things in a skillful, clever way in his poetry. His usage of imagery is also excellent. Unrequited love, the inevitability of death and shortness of life, "carpe diem" idea, and soul vs. body are a recurrent themes in Marvell's poetry, as well as nature and pastoral elements. Some of the dialogic/dramatic poems, where the two parts of one body are in clash with each other, like "soul/mind" against "pleasure/body", recall the turmoil of the English Civil War, as well as the direct allusions to the war and Oliver Cromwell in some of the other poems. Persona in love with a reluctant and proud lady and gardens, the latter of which, in some poems, are also symbols of nature and the "lost paradise" idea, are typical Marvellian motifs. ~ «Society is all but rude To this delicious solitude.» (from "The Garden") ~ #Marvell #metaphysicalpoetry #book #books #bookstagram #bibliophile #reading #read #instabook #literature #bookworm #poem #poetry #classics https://www.instagram.com/p/CA9-zyNgMON/?igshid=vzd998b49zkn
