Description:
Little known as a poet in his own time, Andrew Marvell (1621 78) was a patriotic politician and champion of religious toleration during the Restoration. Although long celebrated for the great love lyric, To His Coy Mistress, the last century has seen his wider reputation as a poet grow significantly, as readers have acclaimed not only his technical excellence, but the appeal of his verse to such themes as poetry and politics, alternative sexualities and the criticism of violent persecution.
Review Quotes:
"The more I read, the more fascinating it became... the poems now move with even more life than they did before. If you've ever been impressed by the beauty, intelligence and sly mystery of Marvell's work, you're really going to have to get this." - Nicholas Lezzard, The Guardian
"His commentary is in many ways the best available on Marvellâ ]On sources, Smith is highly informative..." - Times Literary Supplement
"...detailed notes and careful annotations are of high order and form a scholarship of which any editor and publisher can be justly proud." - Contemporary Review
"You could not get a more learned edition... Masterly introduction to each poem" -AN Wilson in The Telegraph, 16 October 2006