22 pages • 44 minutes read
Andrew MarvellAn Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1681A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Cromwell’s Sword
Cromwell’s sword is a symbol of his military might and position as a military leader. Swords, even in the 17th century, were relatively poor weapons. Compared to the more commonly used spears and arrows, swords used more valuable materials and lacked the reach and killing power of simpler weapons. Swords were typically held by members of the upper-class who could afford to buy and carry them. In the poem, the sword also acts as a symbol of Cromwell’s class.
Cromwell’s sword is alone among Cromwell’s armaments. Monarchs, particularly in the English tradition, are depicted holding both a scepter and sword to represent authority and strength, respectively. Cromwell, a military leader, holds only strength over the populace, no authority.
The Falcon
In Marvell’s poem, the speaker uses metaphors to communicate Cromwell’s leadership style. Cromwell is a trained “falcon high” (Line 91) that hunts according to the “falc’ner [who] has her sure” (Line 96). The falconer, in this extended metaphor, represents the English populace who, in a republican government, has command over their ruler.
The metaphor, when expanded to encompass Cromwell’s role in government, is absurd. As the head of state, Cromwell may be “in the republic’s hand” (Line 82) such as a falcon is on a falconer’s, but a bird of prey lacks the rational capability to make decisions. In using the falcon as a symbol for Cromwell, Marvell points out that Cromwell is inept in the “inglorious arts of peace” (Line 10) and is only good to fight.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar acts as one of the poem’s strongest and most complicated symbols. Caesar represents a military leader who became a politician and overthrew his government, like Cromwell. Caesar’s rise marks the downfall of Roman republicanism.
The speaker also connects Cromwell with Hannibal in lines 101-102. Hannibal is a Carthaginian general who fought against the Roman Republic. Despite Cromwell’s purported republicanism, these comparisons foreshadow republicanism’s downfall and eventual self-destruction under Cromwell. Like Caesar, who grew from a popular statesman to an emperor, Cromwell had “Not yet grown stiffer with command” (Line 81). This suggests that after his victory over Charles, he will grow stiffer and firmer in his rule.
These varied and self-destructive images suggest that Cromwell’s reign will turn tyrannical and eventually implode.
