Synopsis
By 1660, Edmund Waller was an eminent poet whose claims to fame rivalled those of even his most illustrious predecessors, while Andrew Marvell's poetry was largely neglected. This study argues that, together, some of the work of Waller and Marvell bridged the gap between the work of the early 17th century and the Restoration. The author suggests that Waller and Marvell are mutually illuminating, that their poems have substantial intrinsic interest, and that they opened the door through which Dryden made his entrance to become the dominant literary figure of the Restoration. The text situates important poems by both authors within historical and literary contexts as an aid to elucidating both meaning and poetic achievement, but also pays close historical attention to details of language, syntax and metrics that supply meaning.
