Comparing Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress and John Donne's Flea

On the surface, John Donne’s poem “The Flea” dramatizes the conflict between two people on the issue of premarital sex, however, under the surface, the poem uses religious imagery to seduce the woman into having sex. The speaker in this poem is a man, who is strategically trying to convince a woman to have premarital sex with him through the conceit based on a flea, however, the coy lady has thus far yielded to his lustful desires. The speaker’s argument has the form of logic, which contradicts to its outrageous content.

‘To His Coy Mistress’ was written by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678). The poem is a metaphysical poem, which was mostly used in the seventeenth century and was classed as a highly intellectual type of poetry and mainly expressed the complexities of love and life; just as this poem is. In brief the poem is about seizing every opportunity in life and not caring about the past or future. In other words ‘seize the day’. The poem also explores the nature of seduction.

In Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress", the speaker is talking to his lover or significant other, or as he calls her "lady". Throughout the poem he is trying to persuade her to consummate their relationship. To convince the "lady", Marvell argues that they are running out of time, so they must love each other as much as they can before they die. To make his argument more convincing, Marvell uses hyperbole, imagery, and irony in the poem.

When deconstructing the text ‘W;t’, by Margaret Edson, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne is necessary for a better conceptual understanding of the values and ideas presented in Edson’s ‘W;t’. Through this comparative study, the audience is able to develop an extended understanding of the ideas surrounding death. This is achieved through the use of the semi-colon in the dramas title, ‘W;t’. Edson also uses juxtapositions and the literary device, wit, to shape and

In the poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” by Sir Philip Sidney, the speaker is struggling with his desire for someone or something. They are fighting this feeling for control over his thoughts and mind. It is shown that both the speaker and desire are constantly fighting, with neither fully able to take control. This fact is evident through Sidney’s use of violent diction, personification of desire, and oxymorons.

The poem soon shifts and darkens as it proceeds and the time-push and sexual seduction focus moves into the objectionable reaches of decay and decimation. The recognition of death is introduced when Marvell states, “But at my back I always hear/ Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.”. This increases his urgent advances because he knows that once he is below the dirt, all is lost and his conquest has not been

The words carpe diem mean “seize the day” in Latin. It is a theme that has been used throughout the history of literature and has been a popular philosophy in teaching from the times of Socrates and Plato up to the modern English classroom. Carpe diem says to us that life isn’t something we have forever, and every passing moment is another opportunity to make the most out of the few precious years that we have left. In the poems “A Fine, a Private Place” by Diane Ackerman and “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, carpe diem is the underlying theme that ties them together, yet there are still a few key differences throughout each of these two poems that shows two very different perspectives on how one goes about seizing their day.

Poetry is not only a brilliant form of expression, but also a powerful tool for persuasion. The renowned metaphysical poet John Donne uses the genre for this very purpose in “The Flea,” a work in which he encourages a young woman to have premarital sex with him. Donne backs his argument by referring to a flea that has sucked his own blood as well as his lover’s. In the first stanza Donne assures the woman that sleeping together would be a minor act. When he says “How little that which thou deniest me is” he promises the woman that the act would be as miniscule as the flea is in size (1.2). Also, by using the word “deniest” he tries to make the women feel a sense of guilt, as if

He goes on to suggest that, when she has killed the flea that holds blood, which in this case is considered as ?life?, from both him and her, that the blood lost had not weakened them (?Find?st not thyself, nor me the weaker now?) and she had not lost any honour. Therefore, with these points considered, the blood she would lose to him would not make her weaker and she would not lose any honour, ?Just so much honour, when thou yield?st to me/ Will waste, as this flea?s death took life from thee?. To some extent, both poets express a way in which they will consummate or have consummated their mistress. Marvell suggests that they should ?roll all their strength and all/ Their sweetness into one ball? and ?tear? their pleasures ?with rough strife/ Through the iron gates of life.? Whereas Marvell explains the consummation as aggressive, sensual and romantic, Donne uses the flea, a very insignificant, unromantic creature, to imply sexual intercourse, ?and in this flee, our two bloods mingled be.?

“To His Coy Mistress” use a rapid tone while the other poem use a relaxed tone. The speaker in “To His coy Mistress” use lots of exaggerations and metaphors to examines his idea. In the first stanza, he uses the “Indian Gange’s side”, “a hundred years ”, “Vaster than empires” (Marvell 5 - 7), and other words that form a parallelism with exaggeration to explain how much he adores his girlfriend. The speaker use those huge words in the parallelism and contradiction to create how good the time while he was falling in love. Furthermore, the metaphors also contributes to the tone of the poem.

In “Carpe Diem”, epistrophe emphasises living in the present, thus elucidating that living in the present leads to pleasure. On the surface the poem is about Age’s lesson to a few children, but through analysis it presents a complex metaphysical problem. Age wants the kids to be happy and tells them to seize pleasure. “To bid them both be happy./ ’Be happy, happy, happy”(8-10). The poem establishes the repetition of “be happy” which stresses the point that “Age” is trying to convey.

This expression of doubt and the lack of emotion mitigated by Donne in his poetry can be seen as John Carey’s view on this topic. The different developments which their poetic works underwent throughout both poets career is also another point which must be considered.

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.

Carpe Diem is another major theme never found in courtly love poetry, but rather in cavalier. Cavalier poets urge young lovers to “seize the day”, enjoy the present moment because youth and beauty will fade soon and forever. The theme of brevity of life also serves the carpe diem, since the best in life ends “Corinna’s Going a Maying” insists on enjoying youth and love and not to be shy, because all pleasures of life come to an end when death comes. [Cavalier poets did not take life seriously, because this life is too short, so one should enjoy it.

Using the erotic blazon, the narrator explains the amount of time he would spend admiring his mistress’s different body parts. He lists “An hundred years should go to praise / Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze; / Two hundred to adore each breast, / But thirty thousand to the rest. / An age at least to every part, / And the last age should show your heart” (13-18). Through the blazon, the narrator accentuates his mistress’s most beautiful features, while also showing time’s limits. While he tells her the time he would spend appreciating her body, he is also showing her how ridiculous these thoughts are since time is unceasing and their time will soon end. However, the narrator takes on a sarcastic tone towards his mistress and her reluctance to have sex with him. Within the blazon, Marvell uses enjambment, the continuation of thought from one line to the next without punctuation, such as in lines 13 and 14, to further prove that people cannot stop or control time. Moreover, by choosing immense numbers of years that he would admire his mistress’s body, the narrator is challenging and mocking the Petrarchan view of the idealized, perfect woman; he is showing that it is impossible to hold a woman to such standards since men