Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Our man Andy wasn't the only guy writing conversation between souls and bodies. James Howell (1594-1666) came up with this humdinger in 1651: "The vision or a dialog between the soul and the bodie, fancied in a morning-dream." In fact, some scholars argue that Marvell borrowed a lot of imagery from Howell's morning-dream. (Source.)
As assistant to John Milton (yeah, the dude who wrote Paradise Lost), Marvell was influential in keeping Milt unexecuted and out of prison in the chaotic days after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. He and Milton had been hard-core supporters of Oliver Cromwell, who briefly established a republic in 1653. Once the republic was dissolved, it was bad news for any remaining republicans. (Source.)
Souls like to talk—a lot. Once it was finished chatting up the body, Marvell's soul moved on to Pleasure. (Source.)