Definitely, the destiny and poetry of two great English poets, John Donne and Andrew Marvell were connected. Still, if we compare the lyrics of the poets we would see that despite the fact that they both were representatives of the metaphysical poetic school. John Donne and Andrew Marvell dedicated their literary works to the investigation of metaphysical concerns. Still, the “investigation” was held in different aspects. The life of John Donne was closely connected with religion. During his youth he had problems because he was a Catholic. When he became older John Donne changed his religion from Catholicism to Protestantism. He connected his life with church: he became a dean of the St Paul’s Cathedral. All his life he was interested in the aspects of religion, their dogmas and interconnection. Andrew Marvell went another path. He was interested in the religious part of life and was concerned about its political aspect.
Although Andrew Marvell had a secular life and John Donne an ecclesiastical one, their poetry has some common features. They both had a refined manner of writing. They used such technique as conceit, complex images and structures. Their poetry was highly intellectual. Of course, the majority of John Donne’s works were dedicated to religious themes and aspect which were connected with church, etc. Still, many of his works contain satirical descriptions of the English society. Andrew Marvell’s poetry is highly intellectual and satirical as well. In his works he ridiculed not only English society but also government. However, such aspect prevented him from publishing his works, because he could be put to death by such revolutionary acts. Still, late works by John Donne were closer to Renaissance, and Andrew Marvell shifted to Classicism.