Warm-Up: Write your first impression of the title: The Mower’s Song

Learning Objective Introduce pastoral poetry through Andrew Marvell’s Mower’s Song.

Andre Marvell

Bio Facts Andrew Marvell born in 1621 at Winstead, Yorkshire. Dies in He graduates with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University Marvell is appointed tutor to Mary Fairfax, daughter of Sir Thomas Fairfax, Lord-General of the parliamentary forces He is appointed tutor to William Dutton, Cromwell’s ward, until Marvell is appointed to serve as John Milton’s assistant. Milton was the Latin Secretary for the Commonwealth. 1659He becomes a Member of Parliament for Hull and serves in that capacity until his death.

Continued Marvell was not generally thought of as a poet until after his death. Today he is regarded as a metaphysical poet, in company with John Donne and George Herbert. Their style was characterized by wit and metaphysical conceits—far-fetched or unusual similes or metaphors, such as in Andrew Marvell’s comparison of the soul with a drop of dew They play with language and expectations The Anti-Milton.

Pastoral Poetry “Pastoral” (from pastor, Latin for “shepherd”) refers to a literary work dealing with shepherds and rustic life. Pastoral poetry is highly conventionalized; it presents an idealized rather than realistic view of rustic life. An eclogue is a type of pastoral poetry which uses "singing matches" between two or more shepherds There are no set stanza limits, or any particular rhyme scheme for the pastoral poetry form

Common Topics Love and seduction The value of poetry Death and mourning The corruption of the city or court vs the “purity” of idealized country life Politics (shepherds critique society or easily identifiable political figures) Eclogues (a dialogue between two shepherds)

Vocabulary Apostrophe – addressing an imaginary character or object. – “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” Enjambment- continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break – “And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields.” Hyperbole- exaggeration – With buckles of the purest gold – A thousand fragrant poises not change in opinion or time

The Mower’s Song Written in iambic tetrameter -My(/) mind(x) was(/) once(x) the(/) true(x) sur(/) vey(x) Three rhyming couplets per stanza. The last couplet is a refrain Definition: A phrase or line repeated at intervals within a poem, especially at the end of a stanza.

The Content The mind is compared to the meadow. The first stanza has imagery of a beautiful landscape that by the end is contrasted with a wasteland. The rejection has caused a breakdown in mental state along with the physical deterioration of the meadow. The shepherd is talking directly to the meadow and is an example of apostrophe. Mower threatens to take action against the meadow. Marvell depicts the decent into madness revenge may induce in a bitter individual.

Closing Questions 1) What effect does the refrain have on the overall meaning of The Mower’s Song? 2) In stanza 2 the mower lists why he is upset with the meadow. What is that reason? 3) what kind of revenge will the mower take against the meadow? 4) In the fifth stanza how will the mower decorate his tomb? 5)Find one example of enjambment and one of apostrophe.