The Problem with Ambition: Understanding "The Garden" Through Allusions and Close Reading Anonymous 12th Grade

H.C. Beeching proclaimed about ‘The Garden’ that ‘Marvell is the laureate of grass, and of greenery’. This is recognition of Marvell’s desire to explore, effectively, the relationship between man and creation through the analogy of a Garden. However, it is important to note that there are many other facets of Marvell’s writing that make ‘The Garden’ a multi-layered poem that discusses a multitude of different themes. We are also posed questions as to the benefits of blissful isolation through metaphors of shade, as well as the futility of ambition through comparisons to military victory. Therefore, while ‘The Garden’ does indeed explore the relationship between man and creation, it is also an effective argument as to how we should view isolation and ambition.

The primary way in which Marvell explores the relationship between man and creation is through is an analogy of a garden, namely the Garden of Eden and what it can provide for humanity. E.K Chamber states, ‘how should the intoxication of meadow, and woodland, and garden be better expressed’ than in the lines ’Stumbling on melons as I pass, / Insnared with flowers, I fall on grass.’ This is the first example of a multi-faceted approach to man's interaction with nature....