The Complete Poems (Penguin English Poets) [Paperback]

Andrew Marvell (Author), Elizabeth Story Donno (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Penguin English Poets | Publication Date: February 24, 1977

Member of Parliament, tutor to Oliver Cromwell's ward, satirist and friend of John Milton, Andrew Marvell was one of the most interesting and important poets of the seventeenth century. The Complete Poems demonstrates his unique skill and immense diversity to the full, and includes lyrical love-poetry, religious works and biting satire. From the passionately erotic To his Coy Mistress, to the astutely political Cromwellian poems and the profoundly spiritual On a Drop of Dew, in which he considers the nature of the soul, these works are masterpieces of clarity and metaphysical imagery. Eloquent and compelling, they remain among the most vital and profound works of the era - works by a figure who, in the words of T. S. Eliot, speaks clearly and unequivocally with the voice of his literary age'.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek, Latin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Marvell, Andrew (1621--78), was one of the English Metaphysical Poets. Educated at Cambridge, he worked as a clerk, traveled abroad, and returned to serve as tutor to Lord Fairfax's daughter in Yorkshire. In 1657 he was appointed John Milton's assistant in the Latin secretaryship, and in 1659 he was elected to Parliament, where he served until his death. He was one of the chief wits and satirists of his time as well as being a Puritan and a public defender of individual liberty. Today, however, he is known chiefly for his brilliant lyric poetry, which includes The Garden, The Definition of Love, Bermudas, and To His Coy Mistress, and for his Horatian Ode to Cromwell.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (February 24, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140422137
• ISBN-13: 978-0140422139
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,352,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remains very satisfactory, December 29, 2001

By 

Joost Daalder "Joost Daalder" (South Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Poems (Penguin English Poets) (Paperback)

I have used this edition of Marvell's poems for many years in teaching. I also once wrote a brief article about a mistake in it, but for the most part consider the edition very satisfactory. The appearance of *Andrew Marvell: Pastoral and Lyric Poems 1681* (University of Western Australian Press, 2000) has led me to re-appraise Donno's work. The UWA edition is really a selection, and its text is less good than Donno's, though it offers far more - and very rewarding - annotation. This should be of help for specialised work. But Donno offers perfectly adequate help to the average student; she presents ALL of the poems, and she does so in a responsibly modernised, clear text. This continues to be the edition which most academic teachers will want to prescribe, and it is of significance to scholars, too. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Few Marvelous (pun intended) Poems, July 27, 2008

By 

B. H. Stewart (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Like all the Penquin Classics, this paperback edition of all of Andrew Marvell's poems is attractive, well-bound, and uses a nice, decent-sized, very readable font.

Though the "mower poems" and To His Coy Mistress contain some of the most beautiful lines in all poetry, so much of Marvell's work consists of lengthy, politically themed poems that are usually centered on some event that was occurring during the poet's life. It's a real pity he did not write more of the shorter, lyrical poems that he excelled at. Two poems, "The Mower Against Gardens" and "The Garden" are among my favorites. One enumerates the many delights of having a garden; the other notes that gardens are not as beautiful as natural wildflower meadows where everything grows in delightful chaos, and admonishes gardeners for taking tropical plants and transplanting them in cold, alien environments. The handful of incomparable poems in this volume make it a collection worth having. And if you also enjoy the political poems, it's great having all the poems in one book.

2 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent, May 18, 2005

By 

Brian Okabayashi - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Poems (Penguin English Poets) (Paperback)

While Andrew Marvell, was an influential poet in the 17th Century and while his poetry and prose is still a testament to the English language, this collection lacks the emphasis on his excellent shorter poems that use brilliant and sharp language and instead focuses on his lengthy plays that are dry and convoluted. Maybe another version would be better, check his poetry online to decide which volume to buy.