Andrew Marvell was a 17th century English poet born in 1621. Some of his most famous poems include "To His Coy Mistress," "The Definition of Love," and "On a Drop of Dew." In his poem "The Definition of Love," Marvell explores how true divine love is that which is hopeless, as we know we cannot have the object of our desire. Throughout his life, Marvell worked as a poet and later served as an agent for the shipmasters' guild in London until his death in 1678.

1. ANDREW MARVELL
INTRODUCTION

2. THE DEFINITION OF LOVE

3. INTRODUCTION
Andrew Marvell Born 31 March
1621
Winestead, England
Died 16 August 1678
(aged 57)
London, England
Occupation Poet
Nationality: English

4. WORK
Lyric poems
A Dialogue, between The Resolved Soul, and Created
Pleasure,
On a Drop of Dew,
The Coronet,
Eyes and tears,
To His Coy Mistress,
The Gallery,
The Definition of Love.

5. ABOUT ANDREW MARVELL
Marvell was born in Winestead-in-
Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, near
the city of Kingston upon Hull, the son of a
Church of England clergyman also named
Andrew Marvell. The family moved to Hull
when his father was appointed Lecturer at
Holy Trinity Church there, and Marvell was
educated at Hull Grammar School. A
secondary school in the city, the Andrew
Marvell Business and Enterprise College, is
now named after him.

6. The greatest Marvell poems selected by Dr.Oliver Tearle
Andrew Marvell (1621-78) is widely regarded as one of the greatest English poets of the
seventeenth century. His work is often associated with the Metaphysical Poets. But
which are Marvell’s best poems? Below we’ve selected ten of Andrew Marvell’s most
famous and popular poems and said a little bit about them. Click on the title of each
poem to read the poem – and, in several cases, to access more information about it.
‘To His Coy Mistress’. As well as being a seduction lyric, ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is also
a carpe diempoem, which argues that we should ‘seize the day’ because life is short.
Marvell, addressing his sweetheart, says that the woman’s reluctance to have sex with
him would be fine, if life wasn’t so short.

7. Marvell announces that his love was born of despair – despair of
knowing that the one he loved would never be his. Indeed, only
Despair, rather than Hope, could have shown him what it was like
to experience ‘divine’ love – in other words, the truly special love
is that which is hopeless, because we know we cannot have the
person we desire. Hopeless love often strikes us so much more
powerfully than hopeful love where we think something may come
of our desire.

8. Andrew Marvell is a greatest poet.

9. BEFORE DEATH
From 1659 until his death in 1678, Marvell
was serving as London agent for the Hull
Trinity House, a shipmasters' guild. He
went on two missions to the continent,
one to the Dutch Republic and the other
encompassing Russia, Sweden, and
Denmark.

10. THANK YOU