Poetry and Allegiance in the English Civil Wars

306 Pages·2009·1.22 MB·English

by  Nicholas McDowell

POETRY AND ALLEGIANCE IN
THE ENGLISH CIVIL WARS
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Poetry and Allegiance in
the English Civil Wars
Marvell and the Cause of Wit
NICHOLAS MCDOWELL
1
3
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McDowell,Nicholas,1973–
PoetryandallegianceintheEnglishcivilwars:Marvellandthecauseofwit/NicholasMcdowell.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–19–927800–8
1. Englishpoetry–Earlymodern,1500–1700–Historyandcriticism.
2. GreatBritain–History–CivilWar,1642–1649–Literatureandthewar.
3. Allegianceinliterature. 4. Marvell,Andrew,1621–1678–Friendsandassociates.
5. Lovelace,Richard,1618–1658–Friendsandassociates. 6. Hall,John,
1627–1656–Friendsandassociates. 7. Warandliterature–GreatBritain–History–17thcentury.
8. Politicsandliterature–GreatBritain–History–17thcentury. I. Title.
PR545.C56M33 2008
(cid:1)
821.409358–dc22 2008021766
TypesetbySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India
PrintedinGreatBritain
onacid-freepaperby
BiddlesLtd.,King’sLynn,Norfolk
ISBN 978–0–19–927800–8
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
ToSallyandRowan
The more important affinity with Marvell and his contemporaries is the
gifted group of recent Ulster poets...they write out of an imagination of
civil war...when Marvell and his contemporaries, like the Ulster poets
of the last ten years, were so wittily serious and resourceful with the self-
infolded simile, they were at once recognizing and resisting the perverse
infoldingsanddivisions,surmountingthemwithresilientparadox.
(ChristopherRicks,1978)
Acknowledgements
Someoftheresearchforthisbookwasfacilitatedbyaresearchleaveawardfrom
theArtsandHumanitiesResearchCouncilin2004–5.AsIwascompletingthe
book I was awarded a 2007 Philip Leverhulme Prize by the Leverhulme Trust:
this truly generous award gave me the time to make some last-minute changes
withouthavingtoworryabouttheprogressofotherprojects.TheseedsofPoetry
andAllegianceintheEnglishCivilWarswereplantedduringtutorialswithNigel
SmithinOxfordin1995–6anditcouldhardlyhavebeenwrittenwithouteither
therichannotationofhis2003editionofMarvell’spoetryorhissupportofmy
work,bothinOxfordandfromPrinceton.Nigelalsomadeavailableearlydrafts
of several chapters of his forthcoming biography of Marvell. Blair Worden sent
me sections of his Literature and Politics in Cromwellian England in manuscript
atacrucialtimeandofferedweightywordsofencouragementformyapproach.
Others from whose conversation I have benefited, whether they realized it or
not, or who have sent me their work or relevant information include Gordon
Campbell, John Coffey, Ruth Connelly, Tom Corns, John Creaser, David
Cunnington, John Kerrigan, Tom Keymer, Andrew King, Rhodri Lewis, Colin
MacCabe, John McWilliams, Will Poole (although the hospitality of his con-
ferences in 2005–7 did not do me any short-term good), Richard Serjeantson,
GeorgeSouthcombe,andNoelSugimora.MycolleaguesworkingintheDepart-
mentofEnglishatExeterhavemadeiteasiertowritethisbookbothbyhelping
tomakeExeterapleasantplacetoworkandbyofferingmorespecificassistance.
Thanks in particular to Karen Edwards for sharing some of her work, Andrew
McRae for reading several chapters, and Rick Rylance for helping me with my
application for research funding. My parents, Brian and Margaret, have been
staunchlysupportiveofmyefforts,astheyhavealwaysbeen.AnthonyandHelen
Faulkner also deserve thanks for their acts of kindness in recent years. Sally
Faulkner almost appears last in my acknowledgements again, but this time she
alsocomesfirstasthebookisdedicatedtoher;andalsotooursonRowan,who
arrived during the last year of writing. His arrival may not have expedited the
completion of the book, but then he constantly reminds us that the world will
notgothefasterforourdriving.
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Contents
NoteonTexts/Abbreviations x
Introduction:MarvellandFriends 1
1. SocialContextsofMarvell’sLyricVerse,1646–1648 13
ThomasStanley,CavalierPoetics,andtheOrderoftheBlackRiband 13
‘ToHisCoyMistress’andtheOrderoftheBlackRiband 31
2. Milton,JohnHall,andCulturalCommunitiesinPost-WarLondon,
1646–1647 53
JohnHall,theStanleyCircle,andtheHartlibNetwork 53
MiltonandtheCavalierMode:‘ToMyFriendMrHenryLawes’ 69
JohnHallandtheMiltonicExample 90
3. RichardLovelaceandtheEndofCourtCulture,1647–1649 112
‘ToMyWorthyFriendMrPeterLilly’ 112
‘TheGrasshopper.ToMyNobleFriend,MrCharlesCotton.Ode’ 128
‘ToLucasta.FromPrison.AnEpode’ 143
4. MarvellandtheEndofCourtCulture,1648–1649 155
Allegiance,Anticlericalism,andtheCavalierEthos 155
AnElegyUpontheDeathofMyLordFrancisVilliersand
theCavalierEthos 166
‘ToHisNobleFriendMrRichardLovelace’andthePoets’Town 179
5. Allegiance,Patronage,andtheReceptionofMarvell’sVerse,
1649–1650 202
Regicide:‘UpontheDeathofLordHastings’and‘The
UnfortunateLover’ 202
‘AnHoratianOdeUponCromwell’sReturnfromIreland’:
LightandShade,PoetryandWar 221
‘AnHoratianOde’:CromwellandtheProtectionofWit 235
‘AnHoratianOde’anditsReaders:DrydenandCowley 250
Conclusion:‘TomMay’sDeath’andtheAncientRightofthePoet 259
Bibliography 273
Index 288