¶ … Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress," the narrator makes it clear that coyness is a "crime," (line 2). Coyness is a crime because it represents withholding gratification for an indefinite time, when human beings do not have unlimited time. Thus, coyness is akin to a crime against nature. To be coy is to deny the passage of time, to deny death, and to deny the reality of aging. According to the narrator, human beings have but one life to live, and a short one at that. It is important to seize the moment, and not put off happiness in the pursuit of false morals. If human beings were immortal, it would be fine to "sit down and think which way / To walk and pass our long love's day," (lines 3-4). However, human beings are not immortal. Coyness is a lie; it pretends that people, their health, and their beauty, are everlasting. Using imagery of time, the narrator tries to convince his mistress that playing hard to get is an affront to love itself. The tone of "To His Coy Mistress" verges on sarcasm. Through the first stanza, the author uses hyperbole to emphasize the core theme. "I would / Love you ten years before the Flood / And you should, if you please, refuse / Till the conversion of the Jews," (lines 8-10). The narrator then launches into a lengthy description of how many years, epochs, ages, and eons can be devoted to praising the woman's beauty, as she would like to see. Phrases like "deserts of vast eternity" underscore the role that hyperbole and sarcasm play in "To His Coy Mistress," as he makes fun of the woman's coyness. Coyness is summarily exaggerated as a crime against the natural order of things; to be coy is to suggest that human beings have unlimited resources of time and are immortal. Moreover, the narrator suggests that coyness is an affront against the human body, which needs to feel pleasure. Human beings have limited time to enjoy life, as old age...
Once a person is old, infirm, or dead, love serves no role. "The grave's a fine and private place," like a bedroom (line 31). Comparing the grave to a bed is a humorous way of emphasizing the narrator's main point. However, no couples can actually embrace or enjoy themselves from a bed buried six feet under. Therefore, the narrator implores the mistress to embrace his advances while they are both still young -- and alive.
Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" Andrew Marvell is loosely affiliated with the Metaphysical school of poetry, much noted for the wit and novelty of their "conceits" (or figurative language), and his poem "To His Coy Mistress" accordingly adopts a series of different rhetorical figures -- fixed within a tightly rhymed tetrameter stanza -- which attempt to place great rhetorical flourish on what is a simple request on the part of the
Imagery and metaphor were extremely important in Baroque works, and sometimes metaphors became their own metaphors yet again. This poem's images are strong, such as "the iron gates of life," and they create an elaborate and memorable work that is truly Baroque in style. Included are many natural elements common in life, like birds, gardens, and even the sun, which are also elements that point to a Baroque, romantic
Yes, we might feel we "deserve this state" a little longer, and want to have more time on earth, like Marvell's mistress. But he acknowledges (insincerely) that although the lady deserves a long and wordy courtship, full of words about her beauty, eyes, wit, forehead, and honor, he is mortal. Because we all are mortal, and pass into dust, we do not have the luxury of NOT seizing the day.
Poetry during the 17th century often shared similar themes, narratives, and messages. These topics often revolved around concepts of innocence, romance, loss, temptation, and desire, especially when it came to courtship. Andrew Marvell, a prominent English metaphysical poet and politician, whose "To His Coy Mistress," thought to have been written during the 1650s, explores themes of innocence and temptation, especially in terms of courtship. Moreover, "To His Coy Mistress" can
This is seen the verse "Thou know'st that this cannot be said A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead" (Donne). Unfortunately for the seducer, the flea has succeded where he failed. The social conventions of marriage and consumation are symbolized by it in the verse where Donne speaks of marriage bed and marriage temple." The killing of the flea would be like killing his lover and symbolizes the
Poetry is a very complex concept, as it can be used to relate to a series of ideas and these respective ideas can be interpreted in numerous ways, depending on each individual's perspective. Ranging from pure amusement that some poets intended to put across to intense philosophical discussions that others aimed to express, poetry can be used in a multitude of ways and it can make it possible both for
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