Jessica Zhang, The West After 1492, Short Paper
A Close Reading of Andrew Marvell’s “Bermudas” 17th century England was a time and place defined by a lack of consistency in its political structure. Monarchies were abolished as Parliament gained power, reflecting the inability of a single ruler to maintain power for an extended period during this era. The foundations of modernity in English politics resulted from the turmoil of this time, and politician and writer Andrew Marvell was certainly a witness and active participant in this period of true transition. On the surface, Andrew Marvell’s poem “Bermudas” seems like an innocent poetic celebration of the English colonists’ arrival in the Bermudas and establishment of a new settlement there. However, by analyzing the poetic devices used in “Bermudas,” we can find the creation of an artificial sense of comfort in an English nation racked by political strife. We first get a sense of the disillusionment within the English political system through the overly idealistic and exaggerated Biblical imagery presented in the main body of the poem. According to the speakers of this portion of the poem, the sailors, they were “[landed] on a grassy stage// Safe from the prelates’ rage,” as if they were simply placed there. …show more content…
The couplet rhyme scheme is simple, yet consistent throughout the poem; the iambic tetrameter rhythm is similarly maintained for the entirety of “Bermudas.” These features create a song-like feel for the colonists to sing for their journey to better “[keep] the time” as they rowed along. But “Bermudas” has a strikingly regular rhyme scheme and meter. It is particularly orderly, and each inflection and lull in the poem is rhythmical, nondisruptive, and expected. This extreme regularity of rhyme and meter gives “Bermudas” a familiar, comforting pattern and stability, a welcome feeling despite its
A Close Reading of Andrew Marvell’s “Bermudas” 17th century England was a time and place defined by a lack of consistency in its political structure. Monarchies were abolished as Parliament gained power, reflecting the inability of a single ruler to maintain power for an extended period during this era. The foundations of modernity in English politics resulted from the turmoil of this time, and politician and writer Andrew Marvell was certainly a witness and active participant in this period of true transition. On the surface, Andrew Marvell’s poem “Bermudas” seems like an innocent poetic celebration of the English colonists’ arrival in the Bermudas and establishment of a new settlement there. However, by analyzing the poetic devices used in “Bermudas,” we can find the creation of an artificial sense of comfort in an English nation racked by political strife. We first get a sense of the disillusionment within the English political system through the overly idealistic and exaggerated Biblical imagery presented in the main body of the poem. According to the speakers of this portion of the poem, the sailors, they were “[landed] on a grassy stage// Safe from the prelates’ rage,” as if they were simply placed there. …show more content…
The couplet rhyme scheme is simple, yet consistent throughout the poem; the iambic tetrameter rhythm is similarly maintained for the entirety of “Bermudas.” These features create a song-like feel for the colonists to sing for their journey to better “[keep] the time” as they rowed along. But “Bermudas” has a strikingly regular rhyme scheme and meter. It is particularly orderly, and each inflection and lull in the poem is rhythmical, nondisruptive, and expected. This extreme regularity of rhyme and meter gives “Bermudas” a familiar, comforting pattern and stability, a welcome feeling despite its