Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress
Andrew Marvell writes an elaborate poem that not only speaks to his coy mistress but also to the reader. He suggests to his coy mistress that time is inevitably ticking and that he (the speaker) wishes for her to act upon his wish and have a sexual relationship. Marvell simultaneously suggest to the reader that he/she must act upon their desires, to hesitate no longer and ³seize the moment?before time expires. Marvell uses a dramatic sense of imagery and exaggeration in order to relay his message to the reader and to his coy mistress. The very first two lines of the poem suggest that it would be fine for him and his mistress to have a slow and absorbing relationship but there simply isn¹t enough
…show more content…
The speaker in this poem seems frustrated; he delicately tries to inform his coy mistress that their death is near, and they still have not had sexual intercourse. In lines 17-33 the poem seems to lose the exaggeration sense and suddenly becomes serious. He (the speaker) reinsures his coy mistress that ³you deserve this state?(state of praise and high acknowledgment), ³But at my back I always hear, Time¹s winged chariot hurrying near? Andrew Marvell uses and interesting image in line 22 (the line mentioned above) when suggesting to his coy mistress that death is near. He substitutes the word ³death?for a more gentle, delicate term of ³Time¹s winged chariot? This term was probably used to prevent from frightening such a coy mistress. Marvell continues to involve the reader¹s imagination through unimaginable images. What do ³Deserts of vast eternity?look like? In fact, Marvell probably used such abstract images to suggest to his coy mistress that their future is indeterminable, and ³Thy beauty shall no more be found? Perhaps, beauty is what the coy mistress is so concerned with and the speaker in this case is trying to frighten her to have sex with him quicker. He continues to use intense imagery when describing to his coy mistress that even after death the ³worms shall try That long preserved virginity? The speaker now abstractly describes that holding on to your virginity for
Within To His Coy Mistress we see the manipulation in which the speaker uses for his own benefit through the personification of time, ‘Had we but World enough and Time’ expressing, through the personification of ‘Time’, how he would love the potential lover and wouldn’t mind her initial rejection if time was an endless matter. This attempt of flattery, seen
As Wendy Martin says “the poem leaves the reader with painful impression of a woman in her mid-fifties, who having lost her domestic comforts is left to struggle with despair. Although her loss is mitigated by the promise of the greater rewards of heaven, the experience is deeply tragic.” (75)
The poet’s tone changes as we move throughout the poem. The poem starts out with the poet declaring that his love for his mistress is limitless and will stand the test of time. “My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow.” Suddenly, the poet’s tone seems to takes on a sense of urgency. He contradicts his previous beliefs about time, as he now believes time is running out and will prohibit him from loving his mistress forever or ever loving her at all. “Times winged chariot hurrying near; / And yonder all before us lie / Deserts of vast eternity.” He now sees time as a looming death that will prohibit him from loving his mistress indefinitely. Considering that time is of the essence, the author’s attitude suggest
Comparing Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
The speaker in Andrew Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'; is a man who is addressing a silent listener, who happens to be his mistress. In this dramatic monologue the speaker tries to explain his feelings to his mistress. The speaker uses many allusions to empires and other objects, events and ideas that are not directly related to his feelings, in order to explain how he feels. He uses these allusions to exaggerate his feelings in order to clearly show them. After reading over the poem once, you get a sense of what the speaker is feeling. Upon further analysis of the poem you realize that the allusions used in the poem, are in fact, what makes this poem so interesting.
5. The image of the sun appears in both “To the Virgins” (line 5) and “To His Coy Mistress” (line 45). How does each poet use the reference to the sun? How would you paraphrase the last two lines of Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”?
He uses this in the poem to give it rhythm to engage the reader and
In “To His Coy Mistress” it’s about a guy trying to conquer the love of a mistress. He tells her how much time he will wait for her and his love will endure forever as long as she is with him. Later the tone changes and it’s when carpe diem takes place. He starts to say that they don’t have all the time in the world and that one day all this will end. He points out that beauty one day will end and that she should take the advantage of being with him now that she is young and beautiful and not waiting till she’s old and wrinkly. Also he mentions her virginity and says that she should have sexual intercourse before she dies because if she dies as a virgin it’s the same thing as doing it while being alive because worms will still get inside her and eat all her remains. He wants to be with her, and would’ve waited a long time to get what he wanted, but since they don’t have all the time in the world and one day will die he wants
The Seduction Eileen McAuley To His Coy Mistress Andrew Marvell Eileen McAuley’s The Seduction is set against the bleak surroundings of Merseyside. ‘The Seduction’ Eileen McAuley ‘To His Coy Mistress’ Andrew Marvell Eileen McAuley’s ‘The Seduction’ is set against the bleak surroundings of Merseyside. The purpose of the story is to show a teenage girl’s predicament after getting drunk at a party. The poet contrasts the girl’s ideas of love and sex with reality.
The poem is an example of a carpe diem poem - 'carpe diem' is Latin
The title "To His Coy Mistress" implies a certain falseness as the word coy is almost an insincere form of modest, it indicates that this mistress were indeed not coy rather falsely coy in order to gain assurance of his feelings towards her for her own validation. The first line "Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness lady were no crime." introduces the theme of time and lack of a crucial theme in the poem, the lover also accuses this coyness of being criminal by saying "HAD we but world enough and time, this coyness lady were no crime" implying that they do not have time therefore this coyness is a crime, this is clever use of irony which is also a constant theme throughout the poem. Marvell also uses soft alliteration such as "long loves" to lull the reader into believing his intentions honourable, he uses flattery all throughout the first section of the poem though he changes his tactics throughout the poem. The lover tries to create the image of himself as a committed patient lover with promises of waiting for her if she should travel to the "Indian Ganges" without complaint and
Andrew Marvell's elaborate sixteenth century carpe diem poem, 'To His Coy Mistress', not only speaks to his coy mistress, but also to the reader. Marvell's suggests to his coy mistress that time is inevitably rapidly progressing and for this he wishes for her to reciprocate his desires and to initiate a sexual relationship. Marvell simultaneously suggests to the reader that he or she should act upon their desires as well, to hesitate no longer and seize the moment before time, and ultimately life, expires. Marvell makes use of allusion, metaphor, and grand imagery in order to convey a mood of majestic endurance and innovatively explicate the carpe diem motif.
In the first stage of the poem he uses time, as he flatters the Coy
happens to one of them or if one of them dies. He says he wants them
On the same place where he is, he wrote the poem “To his Coy Mistress”. This poem focuses on the attitude of a man in seducing a woman. The man in the poem use metaphorical words to make his lover tempted to him. Marvell sees himself in the male character. That