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Andrew Marvell's "Little T.C.": Ekphrastic Poem or Political Commentary?

Andrew Marvell's "Little T.C.": Ekphrastic Poem or Political Commentary? George Klawitter Somewhere in Yorkshire there hangs a painting of a little girl resting in a bed of flowers. The painting is old, unsigned, and has no indication on the back as to the identity of the subject. It is, of course, a painting of little Theophila Cornewall, great-grand-daughter of the eminent jurist Sir Edward Coke. We should not be surprised that the painting has not been discovered: over three hundred years passed before the Lothian portrait ofJohn Donne was found, mislabeled as "John Duns Scotus" even though the portrait looked nothing like a Franciscan theologian. So where is the oil of Little T.c.? Was it passed generation to generation until it ended up in some beloved servant's hands, a gift for service? Is it hanging in some cottage parlor, a revered enigma? Was it lost in a fire? Wherever it is, it originally inspired in Andrew Marvell a wonderful little poem that continues to amaze and amuse readers centuries after its being penned. That the poem could be ekphrastic seems obvious, but analysis of its painterly qualities has never been vigorously pursued, readers distracted, perhaps, by the delicate scent of a predatory narrator hiding behind a tree http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Explorations in Renaissance Culture Brill

Andrew Marvell's "Little T.C.": Ekphrastic Poem or Political Commentary?

Klawitter, George
Explorations in Renaissance Culture , Volume 37 (2): 155 – Dec 2, 2011
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0098-2474
eISSN
2352-6963
DOI
10.1163/23526963-90000418
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

George Klawitter Somewhere in Yorkshire there hangs a painting of a little girl resting in a bed of flowers. The painting is old, unsigned, and has no indication on the back as to the identity of the subject. It is, of course, a painting of little Theophila Cornewall, great-grand-daughter of the eminent jurist Sir Edward Coke. We should not be surprised that the painting has not been discovered: over three hundred years passed before the Lothian portrait ofJohn Donne was found, mislabeled as "John Duns Scotus" even though the portrait looked nothing like a Franciscan theologian. So where is the oil of Little T.c.? Was it passed generation to generation until it ended up in some beloved servant's hands, a gift for service? Is it hanging in some cottage parlor, a revered enigma? Was it lost in a fire? Wherever it is, it originally inspired in Andrew Marvell a wonderful little poem that continues to amaze and amuse readers centuries after its being penned. That the poem could be ekphrastic seems obvious, but analysis of its painterly qualities has never been vigorously pursued, readers distracted, perhaps, by the delicate scent of a predatory narrator hiding behind a tree

Journal

Explorations in Renaissance Culture – Brill

Published: Dec 2, 2011

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