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The theme of To His Coy Mistress
The theme of To His Coy Mistress
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Seduction most commonly refers to the use of sexual desire in order to persuade an object of affection to change their behavior and meet the desire of their seducer. Andrew Marvell’s ever so passionate poem, “To His Coy Mistress”, entirely implies the motive to bed a young lady (531). The question raised however, is just what is the attitude of the speaker towards his mistress? Is he acting out of love or lust? And who indeed is the narrator? Could it possibly be Andrew Marvell or an imaginary character that readers can be swept away into the magical enchantment of his lyrical poetry?
The foremost indication as to who the narrator may be is in the title. The title is: To Coy His Mistress, not: To Coy My Mistress. For in that case, the word “my” in the title would portray that Marvell was writing a personal piece, and as it is known, it is not. Perhaps it was Marvell’s intent to satisfy readers by creating an immortal imaginary lover as the protagonist. Therefore, allowing readers to be in awe of his magnificent language and take pleasure in the intentions behind it (531). But just what are those intentions?
Is this dominant male’s intention toward the mistress out of love or lust? What the narrator does clearly portray to the audience is that this is a straight forward poem. The male says that, if immortal, he would with pleasure spend all the time on heavens and earth wooing his mistress. But, time is not immortal and nor are they, that he suggest she willingly give herself to him and fulfill his seize the day urgency (531). Using clever literary devices and enchanting imagery the scene is set for him to go forth with his seduction.
The persuasive seduction begins in the narrators high remarks of his mistress,
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze,
Two hundred to adore each breast,
Bust thirty thousand to the rest.
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart. (13-18)
Such a whimsically beautiful description, could only be written out of love, correct? If he loved her for all of her entirety why would he write the following stanza?
For, Lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate. (19-20)
It is here that it can begin to be questioned if he truly means all he declares? If he speaks so highly of his mistress why would he not love her at any lower rate and love her for all that she is?
The. Maybe it is a genuine love poem to his mistress, sort of. offer of a way of life. Both concepts, though, underline the point. simplistic romanticism of the poem.
James Dickey illustrates the pleasures and guilt that comes with an affair. The rush one gets with the fear of getting caught (Dickey 351). The narrator in the poem seems to have no problem with the affair because he clearly states he will call again if he can, proving that he is barely fazed by not remaining faithful. It is clear that both the narrator and the mistress are pressed for time in this sick lust affair they are having. Both equally nervous about being caught by a significant other or someone, but they don’t seem to care enough to end their relationship. In this case, there seems to be no act of fidelity because the narrator says he’ll see her next week (Dickey
Using this choice of words like “then worms shall try” and “…turn to dust”, the speaker essentially tells his mistress that there will be consequences if she does not engage with him. He believes his wit will gain control over his mistress, and her “coyness” will inevitably disappear. In his mind, the repercussions are if she dies without having sex with him, the worms will take her virginity, which can be considered as phallic imagery. In the lines, the worms symbolically mirror the narrator’s male sexual organ. Marvell creates an interesting approach with this daring and disturbing language because the appealing strategy grasps the reader’s attention and explores the question of the extent a person will go to fulfill their sexual desires. While discussing this proposed tight-lipped subject, the tone of the narrator in “To His Coy Mistress” greatly differs from the narrator’s tone in “A Rose for Emily.” The readers can perceive that Marvell’s speaker is intelligent and informed in the sexual category because of his style and word choice. He creates a relaxed tone with his audience, which makes the readers feel comfortable, and he is very clear about what he writes. The direction of the arguments he makes is very undeviating because he goes straight into what he wants
Comparing Tone in To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time and To His Coy Mistress
Lover A Ballad was written as a reply to the poem To His Coy Mistress.
The poets integrated ?metaphysical conceits? as focal parts of these poems. Along with these, they used effective language as a basis for their convincing arguments, they included subjects of periodical importance (e.g. ?courtship? and ?religion?), and use very clever structures that are manipulated in order to make the poem read in the desired way. The very clear indication of the theme in question was strongly aided by the way in which the personas portrayed the emotions they felt and the way they showed their attitudes towards the subject. Considering all these factors, the poets made critical arguments to the mistresses in order to alter their views, thus changing their minds, on denying the poets the sex that they desired so strongly.
Response to His Coy Mistress Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" is the charming depiction of a man who has seemingly been working very hard at seducing his mistress. Owing to Marvell's use of the word "coy," we have a clear picture of the kind of woman his mistress is. She has been encouraging his advances to a certain point, but then when he gets too close, she backs off, and resists those same advances. Evidently, this has been going on for quite some time, as Marvell now feels it necessary to broach the topic in this poem. He begins in the first stanza by gently explaining that his mistress's coyness would not be a "crime" if there were "world enough, and time…" (l.2).
In Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress," he's arguing for affection. The object of the speaker's desire wants to wait and take the relationship slow, while the speaker pushes for instant gratification. This persuasive poem makes the point that time waits for no one and it's foolish for two lovers to postpone a physical relationship.
In the case of To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvall, a not-so-gentle gentleman is trying to woo a “coy” young lady with claims of love. This poem is strewn with hyperbole to the point that it becomes exactly the opposite of love. When there is such over exaggerated praise, it starts to lose the real meaning of the message. If you take a look at lines 13-18, you can see the obvious amplification:
Love in "To His Coy Mistress", "Shall I Compare Thee," "Let Me Not," and "The Flea"
Marvell chooses not to employ many of these techniques in the opening of "To His Coy Mistress." Instead, his images and tools stress how he wishes his love to be- tranquil and drawn out. Rather than beginning with a focus on the concept of death, he opens the poem with the lines, "Had we but world enough, and time / This coyness, lady, were no crime" (ll. 1-2) He will later take on the trappings of the carpe diem poem, but his focus will then be on the grandeur and passion of love, rather than its instability.
Andrew Marvell in his poem describes a young man convincing his fair mistress to release herself to living in the here and now. He does this by splitting the poem up into three radically different stanzas. The first takes ample time to describe great feelings of love for a young lady, and how he wishes he could show it. The idea of time is developed early but not fully. The second stanza is then used to show how time is rapidly progressing in ways such as the fading of beauty and death. The third stanza presses the question to the young mistress; will she give herself to the young man and to life? Although each stanza uses different images, they all convey the same theme of living life to the fullest and not letting time pass is seen throughout. Marvell uses imagery, symbolism, and wonderful descriptions throughout the poem. Each stanza is effective and flows easily. Rhyming couplets are seen at the ends of every line, which helps the poem read smoothly.
The young lady in "To His Coy Mistress" is definitely not to be taken for a mere fool because he would not have gone to great lengths to convince her to give her body to him. His word to describe the young lady as coy shows her response to his question. The speaker seems to be desperate while he attempts to win her over. His mood began to change in the poem from calm to impatient just by the use of his words. By the end he even contradicts himself. In the beginning he states:
Thou know’st that this cannot be said. A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead’. (Lines 5 - 7). He then goes on to persuade her into considering it by describing the passion that they would encounter. He aims to arouse her sexually in hope that this conceit would have an effect on her.... ...
In Shakespeare’s sonnet 130, the speaker ponders the beauty, or the lack thereof, of his lover. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker presents his lover as an unattractive mistress with displeasing features, but in fact, the speaker is ridiculing, through the use of vivid imagery, the conventions of love poems and the way woman are portrayed through the use of false comparisons. In the end, the speaker argues that his mistress may not be perfect, but in his eyes, her beauty is equal to any woman who is abundantly admired and put through the untrue comparison.