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
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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
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)
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”?
Comparing Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
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
The narrator exaggerates how many years he would spend admiring her body if he had the opportunity to live that long. Hyperboles are used throughout the poem, not only when the speaker discusses the little amount of time he has to pursue her, but also during the time he overstates her beauty and virginity rotting away and turning to dust. The narrator then informs her that the only way to make use of the time the two have is to sport “like amorous birds of prey”, in other words, have sexual intercourse (Marvell,
He uses this in the poem to give it rhythm to engage the reader and
The poem is an example of a carpe diem poem - 'carpe diem' is Latin
Furthermore, Marvell uses the second stanza, not so discreetly, to further his argument. In a way, the first stanza served as this hypothetical version of life since the speaker describes how much he loves his mistress and how things would be going even better for them if they had more time, but then Marvell strategically makes use of the second stanza of the poem, as well, as the turn of the poem. As readers, we find out that although the speaker loves his mistress so much, the speaker and his mistress don’t have much more time. The speaker tells his mistress that “Time’s winged chariot hurrying near” (22), implying that life is short and that they only have so much time to live, while they have “deserts of vast eternity” (24), or forever
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 poem, symbolism is used countless times to promote the carpe diem theme progressively till the end. The simple mentions such as the “Indian Ganges,” and “rubies” together symbolize imperialism (Marvell, line 5). This back tracts to when the colonists would rob rubies from India suggesting the mistress is stealing sex from the speaker by not letting have his way (Varsha Chitnis & Danaya Wright). This type of obstacle really has no reason for being so complicated according to the speaker and that the mistress should be more lose not similar to the colonists. It is obvious the speaker has intense feelings to have sexual intercourse with her as he has depicted it so.
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.
happens to one of them or if one of them dies. He says he wants them
In the first stage of the poem he uses time, as he flatters the Coy
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