Lyric Apocalypse Verbal Arts :: Studies in Poetics series editors :: Lazar Fleishman and Haun Saussy Lyric Apocalypse Milton, Marvell, and the Nature of Events Ryan Netzley Fordham University Press New York 2015 Copyright © 2015 Fordham University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—e lectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Fordham University Press has no responsibility for the per sis tence or accuracy of URLs for external or third- party Internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Fordham University Press also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Visit us online at www.fordhampress.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data Netzley, Ryan, 1972– Lyric apocalypse : Milton, Marvell, and the nature of events / Ryan Netzley. p. cm. — (Verbal arts : studies in poetics) Summary: “How can one experience the apocalypse in the present? Lyric Apocalypse argues that John Milton’s and Andrew Marvell’s lyrics depict revelation as an immediately perceptible event. In so doing, their lyrics explore the nature of events, the modern question of what it means for something to happen in the present” — Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 8232- 6347- 9 (hardback) 1. Milton, John, 1608–1 674—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Marvell, Andrew, 1621–1 678— Criticism and interpretation. 3. Apocalyptic literature—H istory and criticism. 4. Apocalypse in literature. 5. Revelation in literature. 6. Change in literature. 7. En glish poetry— 17th century—H istory and criticism. I. Title. II. Title: Milton, Marvell, and the nature of events. PR3592.P64N48 2014 821'.4—dc23 2014029450 Printed in the United States of America 17 16 15 5 4 3 2 1 First edition Contents Ac know ledg ments ix Introduction: Lyric Apocalypses, Transformative Time, and the Possibility of Endings 1 1. Apocalyptic Means: Allegiance, Force, and Events in Marvell’s Cromwell Trilogy and Royalist Elegies 26 2. Hope in the Present: Paratactic Apocalypses and Contemplative Events in Milton’s Sonnets 67 3. What Happens in Lycidas? Apocalypse, Possibility, and Events in Milton’s Pastoral Elegy 112 4. How Poems End: Apocalypse, Symbol, and the Event of Ending in “Upon Appleton H ouse” 152 Conclusion. Revelation: Learning Freedom and the End of Crisis 193 Notes 207 Bibliography 251 Index 265 Ac know ledg ments Thomas P. Anderson and Jason Kerr read every single word of this manuscript. I am grateful for their generosity, their patience, and, most of all, their intellectually provocative responses to the argument. Their comments, interest, and insight have made this a more nuanced and interesting book. Daniel Shore and Greg Colón Semenza commented incisively on the sonnets chapter and helped me to improve it substan- tially. Brendan Prawdzik did the same for the chapter on “Upon Ap- pleton House.” Finally, Yasuko Taoka gamely responded to a series of questions about New Testament Greek. I owe all of them. Numerous interlocutors at the following conferences helped to shape this work: The Andrew Marvell Society meetings at the South- Central Ren ais sance Conferences in 2013 and 2012; the International Milton Symposium in Tokyo in 2012; the British Milton Seminar in 2011; the 2011 Conference on John Milton, sponsored by Middle Ten- nessee State University; and the Philosophical Collaborations Conference at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2011. In part ic u lar, I would like to thank Nicholas von Maltzahn, Gabriella Gruder-P oni, Nigel Smith, Blaine Greteman, Brendan Prawdzik, Lauren Shohet, Daniel Shore, John Creaser, Thomas Corns, and Don Beith for provoca- tive questions and extremely helpful comments at these venues. I would also like to thank the students in my seminar on lyric and events, espe- cially Brian Cook and Jay Simons, and in my sen ior seminar on the ix x Ac know ledg ments defi nition of poetry, especially Rosalind Whitley. They grappled enthu- siastically and earnestly with the issues discussed in this book. At Fordham University Press, Thomas Lay has been an encouraging and enthusiastic champion of this project. I also thank the two manu- script readers, whose comments helped me to improve and clarify the argument and offered some pivotal objections. I am very grateful for the meticulous care that they brought to the task of reviewing the project. During the course of this book’s composition, Alison Erazmus was always game to celebrate moments of provisional triumph. It is dedi- cated to her not only because she suffered through many, many ha- rangues about the end of days, but also because of her indefatigable willingness to imagine not only a better future, but also a more intense and a more beautiful present.