The Oxford Handbook of Andrew Marvell

The Oxford Handbook of Andrew Marvell offers a comprehensive introduction to Andrew Marvell (1621‒78), the poet and politician who lived and worked close to the epicentre of the revolutionary upheavals of the seventeenth century. Featuring forty-three original essays by Marvell scholars and historians of the period, it addresses new directions in Marvell studies, including recent archival discoveries and current critical issues. Furthermore, it supplies the historical and contextual information that will help readers to understand and appreciate this complex and inscrutable figure. The volume’s four parts enable a wide range of critical approaches to Marvell’s work to be discussed in depth: ‘Marvell and his Times’ features essays which build upon recent interpretations of Marvell’s work in historically focused criticism; ‘Readings’ concentrates on Marvell’s engagement with particular genres and traditions in poetry, as well as specific prose works; ‘Marvell and his Contemporaries’ discusses Marvell’s relationships with his literary opponents and other important writers of his time; and a final section, ‘Marvell’s Afterlife’, includes essays on the posthumous circulation, publication, and reception of his works.