The comparison of seductive techniques in the works of Marvell and Donne
Metaphysical poetry in the Elizabethan era consists greatly of seductive and sexual content. Two famous poets, John Donne and Andrew Marvell seem to mention a variety of this content within their poetry. The poems “The flea” by John Donne and “To coy his mistress” by Andrew Marvell, cunningly show various similarities and differences in terms of seductive techniques within their poems. The popular use of seduction is used widely in very related yet diverse ways within the works of Donne and Marvell but ultimately proves that the methods used in Marvell’s works are more efficient.
Throughout “The flea” and “To his coy mistress”, similar persuasive procedures are in use
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In “The flea” Donne appears to base his arguments more strongly on religion. “A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead, yet this enjoys before it woo, and pamper’d swells with one blood made of two…” (Donne. 6). The man argues with the woman that there is no shame in having sex since the flea has united them through blood. In the unity of blood, they are considered one through God thus there is no shame in sleeping together. The use of religion intices the woman to follow the man’s desires. This differentiates Donne from Marvell since in “To his coy mistress”, Marvell shows very little reference to the religious morals and bases it more on the emotions of the mistress. In doing so his seductive techniques differ greatly from that of Donne’s. “An hundred years should go to praise thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze…” (Marvell.12). The hyperboles used by Marvell allow the mistress in the story to feel like a queen. She will feel valued and loved and will ultimately give into the man’s …show more content…
It is clear that the poem with the most ingenious effect was by far Marvell. The use of charming words, manipulation and the sense of hope that is demonstrated in Marvell’s work, proves that his seductive methods are more resourceful. Not only the methods that are used created this effect but also the order that they are placed in contribute to his overall success. In complimenting the lady first, she feels like she is under a spell or like he really does love her. Later Marvell uses manipulation by telling her she will age and that she will no longer be beautiful in the near future. Finally, he ends it off with a sense of hope, ultimately creating an overall positive mood. It is also safe to assume that Marvell’s work was more efficient because, unlike “The flea” there is no demonstration that the woman has rejected him.
The seductive techniques in “The flea” and “To his coy mistress “appear to be very similar. When analyzing further it is noticed that there are actually many distinctions between the two works. In stating this, it is noticeable that Marvell’s work of art contained the more successful seductive techniques with the use of his manipulation, flatter and assurance. Seduction being a main theme in the Elizabethan era, was used intellectually in the works of Donne and Marvell yet various factors show that Marvell was
The 17th century opened with a generation of great social change which culminated in the eventual execution of King Charles I in 1649. This created an atmosphere of conflict that permeates much of the literature of the period. The writings of John Donne are rife with this conflict, reflecting in their content a view of love and women radically and cynically altered from that which preceding generations of poets had handed down.
There are two sides to every story. Where one sees love and passion, another sees burden and indifference. Such is the case with Peter de Vries “To His Importunate Mistress”, a comedic parody of the 17th century work by Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”. Peter de Vries uses satire and rhyme as a way to present a humorous approach to the reality and consequences of a modern day extra-marital affair. While poetry is a literary art that takes on many somber subjects, some feel that humor and profound thought reside on opposite ends of the spectrum.
“To His Coy Mistress” written by Andrew Marvell appears to be a description of a young man striving to seduce his mistress, however Marvell carefully uses a persona to examine the theme of time and maintains the objections it creates and the conditions it demands on us. Time is made convincing through the impressions of carpe diem, beauty and death. The persona accentuates the ideas these impressions create in order to affirm the idea that time flies so we must “seize the day”. In the premise of the poem Marvell actualizes a picturesque scene where the young man can concentrate on each day admiring his mistress, he strives for avoidance from time by asking “[h]ad we but the world, and time”(1) establishing a scheme that is non-existent. From the beginning, time is present and the shortness of life is pondered.
During the 17th century, certain poets wrote poems with the specific purpose of persuading a woman to have sexual intercourse with them. Three of these seduction poems utilize several strategies to do this: Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” and Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning” and “The Flea.” Some of the reasoning used by both poets is similar to the reasoning used today by men to convince women to have sexual intercourse with them. These gimmicks vary from poem to poem but coincide with modern day rationalization. The tactics used in 17th century seduction poems are relevant and similar to the seduction tactics used in the 21st century.
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Rober Herrick and Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” have many similarities and differences. The tone of the speakers, the audience each poem is directed to, and the theme make up some of the literary elements that help fit this description.
In the poem “To His Coy Mistress”, the speaker is trying to seduce his wife. In the assumption the mistress is his wife; she is being bashful towards losing her virginity. The speaker, which is the mistress’s husband, develops a carefully constructed argument where the speaker seeks to persuade his lady to surrender her virginity to him.
The two poems The Flea and The Sunne Rising capture John Donne’s primary motive to get in bed with women. Donne wrote these poems at an early age, and at that time he was seeking nothing more than a sexual relationship. His poetry depicted clearly how sexist he was at the time and how he used to perceive women as a medium of pleasure. The content of his early poems express an immature and desperate image of Donne, who is dominated by his fixation on the sensuality of women. In The Flea, Donne shows his desperation to have sex by addressing a flea that has sucked the blood of both him and the woman he is persuading. It is quite awkward how the poet uses this obscure image of the flea as a symbol of love and sex to convince the woman that...
"The first poet in the world in some things," applauded Ben Jonson of his friend, John Donne (Donne, John Donne: A Selection of His Poetry 11). In the midst of the stylized and often frivolous verses of the Elizabethan and cavalier poets, John Donne's work emerges as startling, intellectual, and honest to human nature and emotion- classifying him as the first of the modern poets. Through an exploration of Donne's "The Sun Rising" and "The Flea", we shall reveal Donne's innovative style and technique, and how this repels him from the poetic orthodoxy of the seventeenth century and towards the style of the modern age.
The Flea and To His Coy Mistress are two poems written by poets living during the Renaissance Period. To His Coy Mistress was written by Andrew Marvell and The Flea was written by John Donne. Both of these poets were well-educated 'metaphysical poets', and these poems illustrate metaphysical concerns, highly abstract and theoretical ideas, that the poets would have been interested in. Both poems are based around the same idea of trying to reason with a 'mistress' as to why they should give up their virginity to the poet.
The poem, ‘Havisham’ by Britain’s contemporary poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, focuses on the bitter and resentful Miss Havisham from the book, ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. It tells the story of love coming to an acrimonious end, where Miss Havisham is deserted by her fiancé at the altar, on the day of her wedding. In addition, the poem ‘To His Coy Mistress’ written in the metaphysical genre by political satire Andrew Marvell, who is from the 1600’s. He writes in the point of view of an individual expressing his desire, love and yearning for a women, who he finds to be coy, and feeling that they will run out of time if they do not get together soon. Both of these poems explore various areas of love and relationships, using numerous literary techniques and structural devices, giving off very divergent impressions of these motifs.
Love in "To His Coy Mistress", "Shall I Compare Thee," "Let Me Not," and "The Flea"
The speaker in "The Flea" is a restless, would-be lover who is trying to convince his beloved to give her virginity to him. Therefore, to convince his lover, the speaker employs a flea that is buzzing around the two to form three arguments. The first stanza compares sexual intercourse to two people being bitten by the same flea. Both are connected by "two bloods mingled (Donne 1081)"; and the act of sex is defined by the mixing of fluids, not an act of love or lust. Yet the tone of the passage is one of playful curiosity, which suggests the smile on the face of the speaker as he envisions achieving his lusty goal. We can see the playfulness in his selection and treatment of the subject. A flea is not a normal object held in the light of love; in raising this conceit, we can see the unconventional way the speaker tries to sell his argument. He acts jealous of the flea because it received her blood “before it woo (1081).” The argument is not intense or angry; it ends with a mock sigh: “And this, alas, is more than we would do (1081).” The playful conceit of the first stanza lays the ground for the more outlandish claims of the second and third.
Metaphysical poets use startling juxtapositions in their poetry to create a greater significance in their arguments and intended meanings throughout the poem. John Donne is said to be the unsurpassed metaphysical poet, metaphysical poetry being poetry relating to a group of 17-century English poets whose verse is typified by an intellectually arduous style, admitting extended metaphors and comparing very disparate things. In 17th century England new discoveries were being made and social customs such as men being the dominant over women still applied. Through Donne’s poetry we can see that he is goaded and confused by the new discoveries and the social customs avert him from reaching his desires. This is incalculably recognized in his two poems, “The Sunne Rising” and “The Flea” where Donne’s arguments challenge some beliefs of the 17th century England. Through “The Sunne Rising” we gain a sense of meaning that Donne is irritated and perplexed with new discoveries and that he believes his love is everything in the whole world. In “The Flea” we can see Donne challenging the social costumes of the 17th century, such as chastity of women, his tremendous persistence to sexually unite with the woman and the overall dominance presented over the woman. In both of these poems Donne uses vividly striking differences in the argument to emphasize the overall meaning of the poem. These dramatic contrasts include conceit, binary opposition, imagery, specific words and the movement of the poem, which are additionally affirmed by poetic devices.
However, before diving into the true meaning of the poem, it is quite important to scan it as a whole; therefore, looking for the structure, the rhyme scheme/meter, and the overall message of the poem as a whole. The Flea, as stated previously, is a metaphysical poem. This states that the poem does not follow an exact form, in some ways it can be looked at as sort of a free verse form of poetry, but with a rhyme scheme. When looking at the poem as a whole, it can be stated that the rhymes are very weak. For example, the rhyming of “this” to “is” and “said” to “maidenhead,” are expected and somewhat easy. While the message is clear as to what is happening, if better word choices had been made, then the poem might not feel as
Metaphysical wit and conceit are two of the most famous literary devices used in the seventeenth century by poets such as John Donne. Emerging out of the Petrarchan era, metaphysical poetry brought a whole new way of expression and imagery dealing with emotional, physical and spiritual issues of that time. In this essay I will critically analyse the poem, The Flea, written by John Donne, in which he makes light of his sexual intentions with his lover. In the first stanza of the poem, Donne tries to convince his lover to have sexual intercourse with him. At first one would not realize that this is his intention because he uses a flea to describe sex which is a very far-fetched description of the act hence this poem being metaphysical.