Book excerpt: First Published in 1966, The Art of Marvell's Poetry presents J.B. Leishman’s appreciation of Andrew Marvell’s poems by demonstrating a sensitive understanding of attitudes peculiar to the seventeenth century and to Marvell. Leishman calls Marvell an "inveterate imitator and experimenter". His success depended on originality of combination rather than originality of invention. But while such phrases as "Musick, the Mosaique of the Air,’’ "Desarts of vast Eternity,"- and "a green Thought in a green shade" were certainly inspired by others, they are distinctively and unquestionably Marvell’s own. Marvell’s poetry is shown to be the work of a man living at a certain moment in history; it is poetry which could not have been written at any other time, and its affinities to the work of contemporary poets are clearly demonstrated. The Art of Marvell's Poetry is a must read for scholars and researchers of English poetry, English literature, and European literature.