To His Coy Mistress Essay Example

To His Coy Mistress Paper Andrew Marvells To His Coy Mistress effectively explores the concepts of carpe diem and tempus fugit. On the surface the poem appears to be a comic story of young man attempting to seduce his mistress however, metaphysical poet Marvell skilfully uses this persona to explore the theme of time and emphasises the challenges it creates and the limitations it imposes on us. Through clever imagery, persuasive techniques and effective word choice he stresses that time flies and we should the seize the day. In the thesis of the poem Marvell creates idyllic scene where Marvells persona can spend each long day adoring his mistress. However the use of the conditional statement in the first line, had we but world enough, and time makes it clear this is a non-existent scenario which could never happen. If only life wasnt so short they would be spending each moment together: this is implied through the use of the personal pronoun we within the first stanza. He is ensuring she knows how much he cares for her and how he would embrace their life together. We are made aware he is in no way disrespecting her and this, an opportune moment in both their lives, should be taken advantage of. We will write a custom essay sample on To His Coy Mistress specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on To His Coy Mistress specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on To His Coy Mistress specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Marvell goes on to state, this coyness lady were no crime, but by highlighting this fact it implies he feels his ladys refusal is in actual fact a crime. He feels there is no point in her retaining her virginity as what could have been such a passionate, well spent time will lose all value and relevance if the moment is not seized. Within the first stanza strong persuasive techniques are used to compliment his mistress in order to urge her to take full advantage of the limited time they have. Marvells use of distinct time periods emphasises how long he would love and admire her for, if he could: I would love you ten years before the flood till the conversion of the Jews. The hyperbole flatters his mistress and shows he would love her from the beginning until the end of time (if he only could) this consequently may influence her to give into his demands as he is making it clear his love is genuine and lasting. He also says: his vegetable love should grow vaster than empires, and more slow A vegetable is a strange comparison as they are not generally associated with romance however they live longer than the typical flower of love and compassion: roses. The vegetables have more substance and depth. By further comparing his love to a slow growing empire he implies he would allow himself time to develop feelings and gradually build up his true love but also have a large scale of passion and lust for her. In addition to appreciating her internal qualities Marvell goes on the state exaggerated scales of time he would spend taking in her beauty but he makes it clear the last age should show your heart. He would spend the most time adoring her inner beauty, her emotion and personality if time was on his side. Unfortunately they have limited time on earth together and it is not possible for him to admire her as he would wish to. Marvell is expressing the point that this connection they have is for a limited period as one day death will come. The second stanza presents the antithesis of the argument and is negative towards his lady in comparison to the first stanza. He makes it clear her beauty is constantly under threat by time so she should seize the opportunity her beauty brings to her. He tells her after life all that waits are : deserts of vast eternity The word choice of deserts portrays the afterlife as large, lifeless and endless. He rejects the afterlife and does not embrace that they may spend eternity together in the tranquillity of heaven once dead. Instead he shows the challenges time creates as her beauty shall no more be found, he expresses how she will lose her looks when in her marble vault, she will only then understand the brevity of life. There is no purpose in this lady being quaint as her old fashioned and sweet refusal will be meaningless when dead. Marvell uses grotesque imagery to further this idea: then worms will shall try that long-preserved virginity The shock of such a vision allows her to think all will be lost if time is not seized. All her beauty and the passionate times that existed on earth will now turn to dust and these opportunities die with her. He is using shock tactics to scare her and persuade her to make the most of the time she with has. Marvells persona supplies a solution to time taking hold of them. In the synthesis he alters his speech and returns to complimenting his lady. He wastes no time in trying to seduce her through the repetition of now. He commands her to make a decision, he needs a reply urgently as time is short. The speaker may be rushing her into a decision but he implies they will have a passionate time together is the moment if seized. He states: And now like amorous birds of prey, Rather at once our time devour By comparing them to birds of prey he suggests they make a violent attack at time. They will become one and tackle time and its limitations instead of being limited by time. He wants them to tear our pleasures with rough strife, they need to fight to have these moments together, they cant just sit back and allow time to slowly devour them. If they work together to seize this moment they will break the iron gates of life. The speaker finishes his oration with: Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run. He returns to the image of the sun and time, he knows they cant stop it passing but they can make the most of the time they have. Continuing the theme of togetherness he uses the imperative form giving certainty to. He and his mistress should be chasing his time and the opportunities it brings to them. To conclude, Andrew Marvells To His Coy Mistress effectively explores the concepts of carpe diem and tempus fugit. By using the theme of time he shows the hold it has on us all and any moment given should be seized. A worthwhile opportunity should not be wasted as time flies. To His Coy Mistress Essay Example To His Coy Mistress Essay Andrew Marvells To His Coy Mistress is a poem that explores the idea of love, and the moralities and perceptions associated with it. Following the theme of Carpe Diem, or seize the moment, the poem is a dramatic monologue in which the speaker is addressing his mistress, and attempting to seduce her.The title itself is an early indication of the lines To a Coy Mistress is going to take; the To immediately implies a direct address, where a man is addressing his coy mistress, while coy means shy, with connotations of sexual modesty. This gives rise to the possibility that the poem might follow the tradition of Carpe Diem, coming from the angle of seduction. The poet demonstrates a variety of techniques and opinions throughout the text to engage the readers interest, and it is how successful he has been in achieving this aim that I intend to investigate.One particular aspect of the poem which is unusual in a love poem, is the very structured way in which the verses are ordered. At the be ginning of each verse, the first line is an instant guide to which stage the speakers argument is entering. The first verse begins with the creation of a hypothetical situation, arguing that in such circumstance, the position adopted by the speakers mistress would be quite acceptable Had we but Then in the next verse, the arguments against; But. Then to conclude the whole argument, Now, therefore. Considering that this a love poem, or at least one in which sex and seduction are paramount, it is unusual that the poem follows such a strict structure love is traditionally thought of as illogical, unexplainable not something to be logically debated over, point by point.Another way in which the poem follows a progressive pattern is how Marvell varies and develops the tone and moods created by the speaker in each verse. By using three different moods in the verses, the poet brings an emotional climax to the conclusion of the poem, as well as adding impact to his persuasion of his mistre ss. The first verse starts with a very relaxed, soothing tone, to draw his mistress into his argument. The second moves into a foreboding, fearful tone, to terrify or scare her, and is then followed by the simultaneous re-assurance and fierce determination of the conclusion. By building the tension during the argument, and varying the tone as well as the mood, the conclusion has more weight so possibly more likely to achieve his aim? In addition to those points, with a monologue this structured, were it lacking mood changes, the poem would be singularly boring to read.When I went on to study the verses in greater detail, I found that there were several points that attract the readers attention. In verse 1, the speaker in a light, and rather self-depreciating tone, imagines a hypothetical situation where his mistress reticence would be perfectly acceptable, had we but world enough, and time that he could do justice to her beauty and their feelings.In terms of him having world enough , the poet uses geographical detail to emphasise the impracticalities of the proper distance between them at the outset of the courtship, by saying he would then be bemoaning his love for her by the Humber a river in the north of England while his mistress would be receiving his love by the Indian Ganges. Opposite sides of the world as a proper distance is clearly unworkable especially as when the poem was written, a journey, and letters, would take months to arrive. This is emphasised by the slow, ponderous word choice and sentence structure used in this part of the verse, echoing his argument as to just how long things would take.There is also the possible slant that the speaker is gently making fun of his mistress, and her ideals, by comparing her to the exotic romanticism of India, full of mysticism and strange beliefs, while he is the plain, unromantic Humber, in an area known for its industrialism and practical solutions. An indication that his solution is more viable?In te rms of his love having time to develop, the poet employs some inventive and slyly humorous imagery to demonstrate the sheer scale of the time it would take. To show how natural, and unstoppable the growth of his love would be, he compares it to a vegetable love, and idea seen in those times as very positive, ponderous and implacable. In addition, he also refers to how long it would take for their love to fully flourish; till the conversion of the Jews perhaps a reference to how long it could be before all Jews were converted to the Christian Faith and partners it with Ten years before the Flood, which could be a reference, with the capital F, to when the world was almost destroyed, as in the story of Noah. The partnering of that, with till the conversion of the Jews Armageddon? The second Coming of Christ? Either way, a time scale spanning from near the beginning of the world as we know it to the end. The more conventional evidence of the increasing time spans is the use of num bers; 1010020030,000an age. Thats a pretty slow development, either way.One feature with I particularly enjoyed about verse 1 was the speakers subtle and self-depreciating sense of humour, as he clearly realises the absurdity of these hypothetical situations; many would argue that the conversion of the Jews is an event which will never occur, and although Im sure a vegetable love is a fine sentiment, comparing ones mistress to, say, a lovely big marrow is not the most flattering of imagesHowever, this tone changes in the last two lines of the verse; after all, the speaker doesnt want his mistress to think that he is mocking their love only its situation.For, lady, you deserve this state;Nor would I love at lower rate.The tone in those last two lines is much more serious, loving; the contrast with the previous flamboyant, self-depreciating tone highlights how deeply the speaker really feels about his love, with this modulation in tone. More realistic, more sincere in what he is sayi ng.Verse 2 was equally interesting, in that from the start of the verse, the poet indicates a dramatic contrast in mood from the previous verse; the first word is But, immediately signalling that this stage in the argument is going to contrast with the previous, and in addition to that, the word choice of the first few lines is full of short, quick syllables, But at my back I always hear / Times winged chariot hurrying near. This change in mood is confirmed in the second line, by the fact that normally, most poems of this time would have had 10 syllables per line, while To His Coy Mistress has 8 per line. Yet this particular line holds 10 syllables when pronounced properly so in order to preserve the rhythm scheme, the reader must compress the words chariot and hurrying, and winged is read with 2 syllables.This compression, the rushing of the line, echoes the point made in the verse; that time a reference to the myth that the sun was pulled by Apollos chariot, hence the passing of time waits for nobody. The shortening of the line, at the expense of the pronunciation, illustrates how ineluctable, and impossible to stop, time is so, by the speakers argument, they should make the most of it. Another method which the speaker uses to bring out the swiftness of the passing of time, and how quickly it goes, is that verse 2 is the shortest in the poem, partially due to the afore mentioned compression, and is faster, as well as shorter; time compressed.It is inevitable that with the passing of time, people grow older, and eventually die. Having impressed upon his mistress just how rapidly age and death come to all, the speaker now uses highly emotive language to bring out his vision or version of what death, and the events that follow after it. He uses highly emotive language to bring out the barrenness of death, by comparing it to deserts of vast eternity nothing growing, nothing living, was how deserts were seen. Death, as a barren, endless expanse, forever st retching onwards.There are even possible overtones of the Egyptian belief that after death the spirits must walk through a desert, and overcome dangers and the prospect of eternal damnation, to find their way to the heavens the desert of the lost? The idea of death as a cold, empty kind of half-existence is brought out by references to marble vault, cold, bare and empty, save for slowly crumbling bones, nothing to interrupt a sound as it reverberates, echoing, around the chamber; a shell. Almost a claustrophobic feel, the idea of being trapped inside a slab of marble, with only fading echoesThe speaker now introduces more of his own personal opinions as to the ultimate pointlessness of human desires and ideals by some truly horrible images; the references to worms crawling through his mistress corpse, who try that long preserved virginity. He is once again raising the point that once she is dead, then worms will crawl through her decomposing body, devouring her remains without comp unction, making homes in her dry bones. If worms are eventually going to penetrate her much-hoarded virginity, then the speaker is proving that it is a pointless effort. In time, beauty shall no more be found and turn to ashes all my lust everything fades, so make the most of the moment. All her quaint honour turn to dust lost with her life. Pointless, all of it; the idea that as soon as youre dead, nothing matters. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Valueless.This concept, and the terrifying mood and images which the speaker has created have clearly been conjured for a specific reason; to try and frighten his mistress out of her present mindset, shocking her into considering his suggestion. Even that she might turn to him in terror? Yet he only wants to frighten, not offend; he never openly insults her course of action, calls her hour quaint rather than pointless, as he clearly considers it.As in previous verses, Marvell changes the tone at the end of the verse;The graves a fine and p rivate place,But none, I think, do there embrace.These lines bring the verse to a close, but the much more subdued tone and mood contrasts with the purely gothic horror formerly created. A much quieter conclusion than the imagery previously employed. The tone is definitely ironic, with the understated litotes of I think, and its clever use of parenthesis, ending on a less terrifying note after all, the speaker wants to prepare his mistress for the conclusion to his argument, that she should not be coy, rather than scare her off completely.The last verse is a compelling conclusion to the speakers argument with his mistress. While talking about his visions of passing time, the grave, and death, the speaker returns to the present, which is first indicated by the word Now, that he is no longer talking about his hypothetical situations or visions. In addition to this, he also indicated that he is going to draw a conclusion from this argument, with therefore. He then goes on to demonstra te the sheer life and vitality of himself and his mistress, with his word choice and the imagery he uses; her skins youthful hue like morning dew the imagery of a rosy, healthy complexion, and the connotations of clarity, purity and innocence that go with morning dew, as well as morning holding connotations of new life, the sun being born again new promise.Every pore with instant fires also gives the impression of life fiery, passionate; definitely alive. Fire has always been closely connected with living, change vitality.The speaker makes it clear that he feels they should make use of this vitality while they can, and use this time of youth to sport us while we may, rather than to remain in the thrall of time, and languish in his slow-chapt power. The two options as to how the speaker believes life can be led; active, or passive. Carpe Diem the course he wants to follow. The imagery the speaker uses to bring this out is full of positive connotations for the former, with compar isons to amorous birds of prey, while the latter option holds overtones of time devouring them with slow-chapt power, rather than them devouring time.However, it is in the last section of the poem that Marvell really uses word choice and imagery to bring out the seductiveness of responding to the pleasures of the flesh, as opposed to following the rules and regulations set down by others and ones conscience. The imagery of Roll all our strength and all Our sweetness up into one ball is fairly obviously bawdy, are the physical connotations of roll. With Tear our pleasures with rough strife Through the iron gates of life comes the idea of rough sex, sweet and sour, pleasure/ pain. Iron gates could refer to either more physical barriers being broken, or the barriers of morality and tradition. All the verbs here are active, rolltear, perhaps to try and create the idea of a frenzy of pleasure, strengthsweetness.In the final two lines of the poem, the speaker reaches the conclusion of hi s reasoning Carpe Diem. He and his mistress cannot stop time, but they can still make the most of it. We may not make our Sun stand still, yet we will make him run. All the previous points and examples have led to the same conclusion; live life while you can. In a compressed aphorism he highlights the conclusion he has drawn from his reasoning and one he hopes will convince his mistress into agreeing with him ; after all, none can argue that the sun will not stand still, and the sun was how time was originally measured. However, though no one might be able to halt it, it is still possible to make him run. Again, the theme of Carpe Diem is brought up seize the moment.To conclude, To His Coy Mistress is a poem that contains many techniques and opinions throughout the text, which succeed in engaging the readers interest, both in it and its theme. The whole concept of rationalising love, as something to be logically argued out, is highly unusual, especially in the type of seduction p oem which To His Coy Mistress is upon first glance. The repeated use of imagery to persuade or manipulate the speakers mistress into following his preferred course of action is extremely skilful and effective in prompting reactions in the reader. Marvells choice of highly emotive language makes this poem far more attention grabbing, especially in conjunction with the varying moods and tones of the verses to build tension.However, there are several points on which I disagree with the poem, even to the point of finding it offensive. Not because of the imagery used, and only to a lesser degree the idea that there might, just possibly, be something to be said for morals, and even dare I say it values. What I find personally irritating is how one-sided and hypocritical the speakers arguments are. Throughout the poem, the speaker argues that everyone should take control of their life, rather than simply being led along by it; to make the most of it.Yet he is then using that self same argument to try and persuade and manipulate his mistress into letting her be led along by him, and his opinions, rather than life. Slight tending towards the hypocritical there not to mention the realism, or not of the situation, in which the woman is portrayed as having easily changeable opinions, strongly influenced by those around her. And if the speaker or poet meant the idea of Carpe Diem to be held in wider significance than the situation in the poem, then why not other factors too?There is also the secondary issue that I believe that while everyone has the right to free speech and their own opinion so kind of me to allow everyone that, I know I do not like it when people abuse that gift to force their opinions onto others, rather than trying to influence them. Yes, I know that it is a dangerously thin line between logically setting out an argument as indeed the speaker did in the poem and actively manipulating emotions to make people more susceptible to having opinions t hrust onto them. But there is still a difference, in my opinion.I am aware that when people agree with an opinion, then they are more likely to appreciate what is being said by the speaker, and I personally do not fully believe in what the speaker in To His Coy Mistress was saying, so am probably less likely to empathise with the poem. I still think it a very skilful piece of writing, and partially successful in covering the concepts and ideals of love albeit from a very one sided perspective. Either way, it combines in a poem which certainly covers the concept of Carpe Diem from the perspective of love, and has the ability to capture the readers interest if only because they disagree with what is being said.