Love in Pre-1914 Poetry

Love in Pre-1914 Poetry

Compare and contrast the ways in which writers’ present ideas about

love in a selection of pre-1914 poetry

Poetry is usually used to convey strong feelings and emotions which

may be difficult to express in any other form. Poems are especially

good at portraying feelings of love because they have set rhythms

which can flow better than ordinary speech; poetry can also be good at

expressing anger as the rhythms are capable of being very harsh. From

times pre-dating the Tudors, poetry has been used by men to win the

affections of their prospective mistresses because, by using verse,

they could show emotion without embarrassment. The technique of using

poetry to woe was used by Andrew Marvell in his poem ‘To His Coy

Mistress’.

The traditional, model woman, particularly in the 17th Century, was

supposed to maintain a state of coyness until after she was married

off to a suitor who met with her fathers’ approval. Andrew Marvell’s

‘To His Coy Mistress’ speaks of the passage of time moving on and of a

man’s frustration at his mistress’s coyness.

“Had we but world enough, and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.”

(Lines 1-2)

In the above the man is telling the lady that if they had ‘all the

time in the world’ then her coyness would be fine and he would not

mind it at all. These first two lines of the poem are the beginning of

the ‘if’ section. Marvell goes on in this section to say:

“Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side

Should’st rubies find: I by the tide

Of Humber would complain. I would

Love you ten years before the flood:

And you should, if you please, refuse,

Till the conversion of the Jews.”

(Lines 5-10)

The Ganges is an exotic river and, especially in the 17th Century when

travel to India was rare, it was the source of much fascination. By

saying that she is by the Ganges and yet he is by the Humber, a very

unexciting river, he is flattering her. She is worthy of a glamorous

river whereas he is not. Marvell writes that he would love her even

before the two rivers are joined in a second Biblical flood. He also

says that she could refuse to heed his advances until the “conversion

of the Jews” this, like the second flood, is a very unlikely event.

The poem then continues with Marvell writing of a

“…vegetable love…”

(Line 11)

This love would continue to grow with time and the man and woman’s

platonic relationship would carry on without hindrance if only they

had the time. If the man had forever then he could take the time to