To his coy mistress ....

To his coy mistress ....

Introduction:

Andrew Marvell's “To His Coy Mistress” is considered a metaphysical poem which uses extended metaphor, imagery, and hyperbole to describe love and seduction. He portraying his woman as a higher and more worthy individual than he. The narrative voice of the poem uses obvious flattery, implying the inevitability of decay and stress the advisability of making the most of fleeting pleasures. It was first published in 1681.

Analysis:

Marvell begins by telling the mistress how passionate his love is, how long he could wait and how he covets her virginity. Under such ideal circumstances the poet could remain in his native pace where river Humber flows and keep endlessly pinning for his beloved romaingon the banks of the Ganges in india. If the whole of eternity was available to the poet, he would go about making approaches to his beloved in a slow and leisurely way. He would start his amorous suit ten years before the Great blood mentioned in the Old Testament. During the course of his musings, the lover makes an odd metaphor for the growth of his love over the course of this incredibly long romance.

Unfortunately, the time available to the poet is very short.Time is like a traveller traveling in a flying chariot. The chariot has come very close to the poet. That is, the poet and his beloved may lose their strength and beauty and die shortly. The vast future time in which love cannot be fulfilled looks like a desert to the ponce. He tells her that if they die without having sex together, his "lust" or desire, will all burn up, with nothing left but the "ashes." Yet being dead, they cannot embrace each other even though they are laid by each other's side. So, lovers had better enjoy themselves at once.

So the best thing to do is to enjoy love as hastily as possible before the death consumes them. Like a carnivorous bird tearing as its prey, the lovers should tear at each other's body violently, as death might overtake them sonner than later. He feels like he’s dying in Time’s mouth, and that time is slowly eating him up. He says youthful vitality and sweetness should be enjoyed in a concentrated form. Just as a player is keen on catching a bal before it moves away, lovers should enjoy their strength and beauty before they vanish. The sun moves fast. The lovers, with their hurried love-making , should make the sun run away from them.