Metamorphosis of the Poetic Persona in Andrew Marvell's Poems

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Eun KimAndrew Marvell, perceiving the limitations of language, overcomes them by constantly transforming his poetic persona. Some critics interpret that the metamorphoses reflect the psychological distress of the persona, and others claim that they represent the complicated social condition of then-contemporary world. In four poems, "Damon the Mower," "The Garden," "The Gallery," and "The Nymph Complaining for the Death of Her Fawn," the transformation of the poetic persona is rather noticeable than in other poems by Marvell. In these poems, Marvell attributes different roles to the poetic persona. One of the common poetic techniques used for the metamorphosis corresponds to T. S. Eliot's "objective correlative." The association of seemingly irrelevant images without explanatory comments stimulates the reader's imagination. The significance of the poem depends upon the reader's thoughts, senses and experiences, thus yielding different reading for each reader and consequently separating both the reader and the poem from the poet. The identity of the poetic persona, in such a poetic context detached from the poet, becomes obscure on account of its constant metamorphosis. The objectification of the poetic persona as well as the poet erases the personal traces of Marvell from the poem. According to T. S. Eliot in "On Andrew Marvell," Marvell retreated from his public position at the political and social turmoil and chose to become a poet. If Eliot is right, Marvell's withdrawal from his poetic text through the metamorphosis of his poetic persona embodies his endeavor to conceal his personal traces even in literary sphere.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 "The Poisoned Grove:Essays and Articles in Early 17th Century English Literature"

2 Anderson, "The Nature of Marvell's Mower" 31 (31): 131-146, Winter1991

3 "The Continuity of Being Chinese Visions of Nature Nature In Asian Traditions of Thought" 1989

4 Keast, "Modern Essays in Criticism" 1962

5 "Metamorphosis of the Poetic Persona in Andrew Marvell's Poems"

6 Jaeckle,Daniel, "Marvell's Dialogized Nymph" 43 (43): 137-150, 2003

7 "Marvell's 'Nymph Complaining for the Death of Her Faun" 231-19 43, 1958

8 "Intellectual Foundations of China" 1971

9 Colie,Rosalie L, ".My Echoing Song:Andrew Marvell's Poetry of Criticism" Princeton UP 1970