New Light on Marvell's `A Dialogue between the Soul and Body'

Abstract

Marvell’ s ‘A Dialogue between the Soul and Body’ is one of those idiosyncratic poems which when read nowadays without a proper awareness of the tradition, both in prose and verse, upon which it plays tempts to an over-biographical interpretation and to an assorted variety of philosophical explanations. Indeed, quite contrary conclusions have been drawn from the inconclusiveness of the debate between soul and body—that Marvell is, at least for the space of the poem, dangerous cynic; Pyrrhonist in his suspension of a verdict; Cartesian in his dualism; Puritan idealist coming to terms with historical exigency;

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