Falling in Love with the World: The Enchanting Skepticism of Andrew Marvell

• In Event: New Approaches to Skepticism I

Abstract

Andrew Marvell’s philosophical skepticism contributes to the enchanting effects of his poetry. Although early modern skepticism is seldom seen as producing enchantment, Marvell’s poems achieve this in multiple ways: by heightening the erotic vitality of nature in a Lucretian spirit (“The Garden”); by evoking the sublime while playing games with scale and proportion reminiscent of the “modes” of Sextus Empiricus (“On Appleton House”); by portraying his authorial persona as a doubter adjudicating among conflicting allegiances (“A Horatian Ode”). Overall, Marvell aestheticizes his engagements with skepticism, transforming the objects of his contemplation into works of beauty occasioning pleasure. This self-representation as a connoisseur and a sensualist is often either bypassed or interpreted psychoanalytically. Repurposing ideas of Stanley Cavell and Giorgio Agamben, I argue that skeptical doubt helps the Marvellian subject fall in love with the world, even while enabling the emergence of the secular man of taste.

Author

• Anita Gilman Sherman, American University