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Summary Of The Mower Against Garden

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In “The Mower Against Gardens,” Andrew Marvell uses a conceit to liken the plants in an English garden to the women of a brothel, exemplifying the theme of man’s perversion of nature. Three main metaphors are used, the first being mankind as the brothel owner. The second metaphor is the flowers as prostitutes, and the final metaphor is the flowers’ offspring as abandoned children. Marvell begins the conceit by introducing mankind as the instigator of corruption. “Luxurious man, to bring his vice in use, / Did after him the world seduce” (1-2). The use of the word “man,” instead of “mankind,” begins the characterization of the male, or the patriarchy as the owner of the brothel, as well as the patrons that keep it in business. Additionally, the speaker uses very charged, sexual language, such as “vice” and “seduction” to describe how humans are enchanted by nature’s beauty. At the time of writing, in 16th century England, the act of a man visiting a brothel would have been considered a “vice,” or something that generally considered sinful or negative. However, the act is nonetheless accepted by society as something normal.
The speaker then introduces nature as a female entity, which coincides with the perception of “Mother Nature.” as a female entity. “And from the fields the flowers and plants allure, / Where nature was most plain and pure” (3-4). The words “plain and pure” imply that nature, in its original, untouched state, has a sort of purity associated with a virgin maiden. Before coming into contact with “man,” nature has a pristine and naïve characteristic. However, that will change as soon after “man” establishes a position of power over nature. Mankind traps nature within “the gardens square” (5), and he begins to change the plants, presumably by grafting them together or selectively breeding them to produce more desirable and colorful traits. This “Garden square,” with its “dead and standing pool of air” (6). could be interpreted as the cramped interior of the brothel where the women are forced to work, with four walls trapping them on every side. Later in the poem, too, the garden is referred to as a “green seraglio” (27). A seraglio is the women’s apartment area of an Ottoman palace. This was an

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