Background
Nun Appleton Priory was a Cistercian religious house, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. At that point, or shortly afterwards, it was acquired by the Fairfax family. One of the themes of the poem is a Protestant-slanted account of the circumstances under which Isabel Thwaites left the nunnery. She married William Fairfax of Steeton, in 1518, two decades before the Dissolution. Their son Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton was a Member of Parliament; and his son was Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. The story of Isabel, released from wardship in the priory by legal order and William Fairfax's intervention, has not been verified independently of Marvell's account.
Thomas Fairfax, the dedicatee of the poem and son of the 1st Lord Fairfax, went to live as a newly-married man with his father at Denton. The domestic arrangements were soon changed, however, and Thomas Fairfax the younger soon moved to Nunappleton (now Nun Appleton), the estate on which Appleton House was built.
Nun Appleton is just north of Ryther, a village south-south-west of York. Local geography enters the poem in the mention of Cawood Castle, within walking distance of Ryther to the east. Both the ruined nunnery and the castle (associated with the Archbishops of York, and in particular with John Williams) are contrasted in the poem with Appleton House.
Read more about this topic: Upon Appleton House
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)