Writing Privacy

When I needed a neighbour
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour
Were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won’t matter
Were you there?

One of the most eye-catching and notorious details about Andrew Marvell was his lack of friends. On the one hand, who could blame all those who knew him? He was (or became) a private, suspicious man, angry and fractious at times. He may have had difficult experiences with women and almost certainly did with alcohol.

On the other hand, who could blame him? He was dedicated to his work. He witnessed others readily changing allegiances and forsaking conscience. He witnessed fiendish intelligence networks sabotaging the postal system. And, supposedly, he had to dismiss a corrupt attempt at bribery.

Marvell’s strong aptitude for privacy amidst an expansive public sphere would naturally make his friendships more cautious and selective. Or, was it simply that he cared about what friendship actually meant? The relationship between Marvell and Milton was hardly straightforward, but it persevered, and ‘On Mr Milton’s Paradise Lost’ is a powerful gesture.

Continue reading ‘Media Revolutions and “Friends”’