The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)

Member of Parliament, tutor to Oliver Cromwell’s ward, satirist, and friend of John Milton, Andrew Marvell was one of the most significant poets of the seventeenth century. The Complete Poems demonstrates his unique skill and immense diversity, 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.

This Penguin Classics edition includes authoritative texts of these poems, based on a detailed study of the extant manuscripts, and a new introduction by leading scholar Jonathan Bate. Also included are a chronology, further reading selections, appendices, notes, and indexes.