Poetry of revolution : the poetic representation of political conflict and transition in Milton's Paradise Lost and Marvell's Cromwell Poems

[摘要] Seventeenth-century England witnessed a time of radical sociopoliticalconflict and transition. This thesis aims to examine howtwo writers closely associated with this period and itscontroversies, John Milton and Andrew Marvell, represent eventsas they unfold. This thesis focuses specifically on Milton'sParadise Lost and Marvell's Cromwellian poems in order to showhow these poets reinterpret established literary conventions andinvoke traditional Puritan practices in order to explain andlegitimise the precarious new dispensation of post-Civil WarEngland. At the same time, their work produces ambiguities andtensions that threaten to undermine the very discourse that theyattempt to endorse. Both poets' work indicates an activeinvolvement in the political embroilments of their time whileretaining its aesthetic value. Therefore, these texts do not onlyfunction on an aesthetic level but also within the historicalframework of political ideologies.The focus of this thesis is a discussion of the relationshipbetween politics and poetry, with the emphasis on poetry of conflict and transition in civil society. In other words, it is notonly considered how different poetic genres reflect social andpolitical change in different ways but also how these genres inturn contribute to political rhetoric. During the English Revolution Milton and Marvell try to provide solutions for thepolitical disturbance, even while remaining aware of the newconflicts produced in the attempt.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University