Read below our complete notes on the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell. Our notes cover To His Coy Mistress summary, themes, and a detailed analysis of To his Coy Mistress poem by Andrew Marvell.
Introduction
Andrew Marvell, one of the best metaphysical English poets, was born on March 31, 1621, in Yorkshire, England. His political reputation dominated his poetry until the twentieth century when his fame as a satirist was at a higher place. His poetry was recommended by Charles Lamb in the 19th century, and afterward, it appealed to many readers in the 20th century.
His major works include: “To his Coy Mistress,” a metaphysical poem; The Last Instructions to a Painter, a political satire; and The Rehearsal Transpros’d, a prose political satire. He died on August 18, 1678.
“To his Coy Mistress,” one of the finest metaphysical poems by Andrew Marvell, was written during English Interregnum (1649-60) and was first published after his death in 1681, in a collection of miscellaneous poems. This poem is a renowned carpe diem poem in English Literature.
The poem centers on a man’s lustful longings endeavoring to induce his virgin beloved into a sexual relationship. The speaker wants to deflower his beloved before it gets late. He mentions that if they had plenty of time in the world to waste, then he would have waited for her, and there would be no need for him to provoke her. However, unfortunately, they don’t have enough time in the world. The life of the world is short, and the grave is waiting for them like a vast desert where they will turn to dust and ashes. He also mentions that one’s beauty is not forever. It dies with the passage of time, which is not a pleasant prospect. The speaker addresses his beloved that before this time devours us, let us devour it.
Literary Context
“To his Coy Mistress” belongs to the categories of cavalier poems and carpe diem poems. Cavalier poems are characterized by their unprecedented subject matter. Unlike the ordinary and traditional themes of philosophy, religion, and art, these poems discussed much livelier and celebratory themes. “To his Coy Mistress” also does the same. It tackles the issue of a lover persuading his beloved in a very lively tone. The speaker speaks of his limitless love and the reasons why his beloved should accept his love.
Carpe diem poems are the poems that reflect on the theme of enjoying the little time we have now. “To his Coy Mistress” is one of the most recognized poems of this category. It describes the mortality and shortness of life and asks the reader to take full advantage of the present time.
To His Coy Mistress Summary
The speaker, in the poem, addresses his beloved and says that if they had enough time and space in the world to spend, then her coyness (shyness) would be accepted. They would sit somewhere and plan the ways in which they can spend their time. His beloved would sit by the side of the river Ganges and search for precious stones while he (the speaker) would sit at the side of Humber River and would love her silently and wait for her. The speaker, furthermore, adds that even she could refuse him for as much time as she wants. Her refusals will not be annoying, and he will not object to any such action.
The speaker claims that he would have loved her even before the start of the time only if such a thing was possible. If they were not entrapped in the claws of the swift time, he would have let her refuse his love till the doomsday.
The speaker addresses her beloved that his love for her would be like vegetables that will grow slowly but surely with the passage of time. He mentions his deep love for his beloved by claiming that he would praise each part of her body for a hundred years, and in the end, her heart will get open for him. He says that he will praise her eyes for two hundred years and then turn to gaze at her forehead. This gaze will last no less than one hundred years. Then, he will take a hundred years to adore each of her breasts. The speaker claims that his beloved deserves this much love, and he would not love less than she deserves.
However, the speaker says they don’t have enough time as life is limited, and every living being has to die one day. Furthermore, time waits for no one. It flies, leaving everything behind. He says that the afterworld is like a vast desert where everything vanishes with time, and the same is the case with beauty. It will also fade.
After mentioning his beloved’s beauty, the speaker speaks of her beloved’s virginity that she has preserved for a long time. He says that in the grave, her preserved virginity will be attacked by worms, and the honor, for which she has saved her virginity, will turn to dust. At the same time, his lust for her beauty, too, will turn ashes. He says that a grave is an isolated place, and no two persons meet there.
The speaker suggests that youth is the best time of life. They should enjoy their lives just like birds. As long as the young-looking skin of a person is garden-fresh, he/she should take advantage of the youthful moments. During youth, the fire of desire blisters in them, and they have the opportunity to do whatever they want to do.
To the speaker, life is filled with struggle and resentment, while the youth is the greatest chance to cross the arid and dull Iron Gate of life with love and affection. They can’t make their bad times wait for them. However, they can make the most of their time with love and unitedness.
Themes in the Poem To His Coy Mistress
Time
One of the major themes of the poem is “time waits for no one,” and it flies as if it has wings. The speaker, time and again, mentions in the poem that everything would have been acceptable on behalf of his beloved if they had a lot of time. However, the time they have in their lives is limited and very short. To add to this, the age of youth is shorter, and they will not be able to have the same fiery spirits once it passes. Since they don’t have enough time to live and enjoy her shyness; to him is a crime.
Marvell lived in the time of Galileo and Newton, who revolutionized the way we think of time. It was a hot topic of debate in that era. For Marvel, time is an antagonist of love. It takes away everything with it and leaves nothing but dust. Therefore, his poem warns young people to be happy at the moment and enjoy the very short life we have. Once a person is dead, the grave has no joys. It is a private place, and no two persons can meet there. There are only worms in the grave which will eat all the beautiful bodies.
Sex
Sex is another main theme of the poem. The speaker calls sex his super-power to control the enemy i.e., time. He addresses his beloved and says that her long preserved virginity is of no benefit because, with the passage of time, everything vanishes. When she dies, this virginity that is her pride will be tried by worms. Her preserved honor will not benefit her in any way. In this way, it will be a waste of opportunity if she delays her response to her suitor.
Mortality
The speaker of the poem envisions the images of the afterlife. To him, humans are nothing more than dust and ashes in the vast deserts after death. On the other hand, life and especially youth is the best time to enjoy. Without worrying about the future, one should live his/her youthful life with full enthusiasm and passion. This is the only time when life presents all its glories to humans. They are capable of enjoying every moment to the fullest.
Moreover, the mortal nature of humans’ lives makes love the essence of life. When life is going to end in any way, it is better to spend it in love and affection. This way, life can become beautiful.
Carpe Diem
Above all, the poem “To his Coy Mistress” calls upon seizing the day. It negates all the notions of piousness and honor. It stresses the point that nothing is better than to enjoy the present moment. The future is uncertain, and the afterlife is bleak. Therefore, if we are able to be happy at the moment, we should not shy away from it. No fear of worldly values should make us surrender our happiness.
The negation of Ideal Love
The ideas of platonic love and unrequited love are celebrated in many poems. However, this poem negates all such concepts and emphasizes the point that physical relation is necessary for love. The ideal notions of love and respect are mere talks. It manifests the idea that lovers should meet and find happiness in the closeness of each other.
To His Coy Mistress Analysis
Line 1-20
The poem begins with the speaker’s appeal to his coy mistress. He says that if they had enough time to live in the world, then her shyness to him would not have been a big deal. He calls her coyness a crime. The speaker believes that her lady is well aware of the mortality of life. However, he thinks that she is not acting wisely by delaying her response to his advances. To him, this is just like committing a crime.
The speaker claims that he would not have made such requests if they—he and his beloved—had limitless time in the world. They would sit somewhere and would plan the ways in which they can spend their time. As they don’t have enough time to live, they should focus more on acting than planning.
The speaker would imagine the condition if they had a limitless life. His beloved would sit beside the river Ganges and collect precious stones from the riverside. On the other hand, the speaker would sit on the side of the Humber River and wait for her to return to him. He would love her, and his love would increase as time passes. The speaker also claims that her beloved could refuse him as much as she could. He would not mind as they will have enough time to make love.
Furthermore, the speaker claims his love a vegetable love i.e., evolutionary, deep-rooted, strong, and fruitful. It will grow more than the width of an empire, and its growth will be very gradual.
The speaker employs hyperbole and mentions that if they had enough time to live, he would have praised each and every part of his beloved’s body. He says that he would have consumed a hundred years in praising her eyes and a hundred years in gazing at her forehead. Similarly, it would take him two hundred years to praise her each breast, while thirty thousand years for the rest of the body.
Continuing with the hyperbola, the speaker claims that he would have consumed a lifetime to praise each part of her beloved’s body. In the last age, she will show up to him; after which he would be able to explain her.
The speaker, furthermore, claims that his beloved deserves to be praised like this, and he couldn’t manage to praise her less than that.
Line 21-32
All of the supposition that the speaker makes in the previous lines are only possible if they had enough or limitless life in this world. However, he has a big “but” to consider. He says that he hears the sound of the time’s wings as it flies closely behind their backs. Everything in the world seems to be passing away. He says that the other world is waiting for us like a vast desert where everything will vanish and turn to dust. The same is the case with your beauty. It will also fade.
After mentioning his beloved’s beauty, the speaker speaks of her beloved’s virginity that she has preserved for a long time. He says that in the grave, her preserved virginity will be attacked by worms, and all that honor, for which she has saved her virginity, will turn to dust. At the same time, his lust for her beauty, too, will turn ashes.
Line 33-46
The last part of the poem focuses on summing up all the previous suppositions and consequences of the shortage of time. The speaker starts the 3rd part of the poem by “now, therefore” that shows that after giving two quite effective causes to succumb, the speaker will now speak of the final concluding one to make his beloved see sense.
The speaker says that youth is the best part of life to enjoy. At this age, one is energetic and passionate. The skin is as fresh as the morning dew. Similarly, the individual’s soul transpires immediate desire with every pore. We should live a life like amorous birds. Let us devour the time before it devours us.
The speaker, furthermore, adds that we should unite all our strength and passion along with our sweetness in order to get our pleasure. Life is just like an iron gate that doesn’t open easily. With our strength and passion, we will tear the gate to get out happiness.
In the last couplet, the poet says that we don’t have enough time to wait for our problems to be solved by themselves, but we should, unitedly and passionately, make it run.
Speaker
The speaker in the poem “To his Coy Mistress” is an anonymous person that can be any man.
Rhyming Scheme
The poem “To his Coy Mistress” is the form of couplets, having a rhyming scheme aabbccdd….
Structural Analysis
The poem is in the form of iambic tetrameter. This meter corresponds to four sets of two syllables in every line, i.e., eight syllables in each line. The opening of the poem has two “closed couplets,” demonstrating a complete sentence.
Setting
In the poem, “To his Coy Mistress,” two types of settings are involved. First is the setting that the readers imagine, while the second is that of the speaker’s imagination. However, the poet mentions some scenery in the poet that appeals to the reader’s imagination. These include:
- Ganges River in India and Humber River in England
- Deserts of vast eternityS
- The grave
- The morning dew
Figures Of speech
Following are the figures of speech in the poem “To his Coy Mistress”:
Metaphor
The implicit implied and hidden comparison between two objects is called a metaphor. A metaphor used in this poem is:
- My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires and more slow
Here the speaker compares his love with vegetables on the basis of the shared quality of slow and gradual growth. It implies that just like the growth of vegetables which is not detectable when it is happening, the love of the speaker will increase slowly with time.
Simile
A simile is the explicit open comparison between two things or objects. It compares the two object with the help of words “like” and “as” The similes used in this poem are:
- Now, therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew.
- Now let us sport us while we may
And now, like amorous bird of prey.
Hyperbole
When a writer or poet exaggerates his/her feelings or any other scene in his work, it is called hyperbole. Following are the examples of hyperbole in this poem:
- “vaster than empires”
The speaker claims that his love will grow vaster than any of the great empires. This is an exaggeration to emphasize the worth of his love.
- An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes
The speaker claims that he will praise his beloved’s eyes for one hundred years. This exaggeration serves the function of propagating the illustrious claims made by the speaker about his love.
- An age at least to every part
The speaker says that he will take an age to praise every part of his body. Here, the speaker clearly exaggerates his fondness of the beloved’s body as it is not humanly possible.
Personification
Personification is the attribution of human qualities to nonhuman things. The personifications used in this poem are as follows:
- Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.
Time is personified as sitting in a winged chariot and closing in on them.
- Youthful hue/ Sits on thy skin like morning dew.
Here, “youthful hue” is personified.
Allusions
- “The flood” is a biblical allusion and refers to Noah’s flood.
2. “Conversion of Jews” is another biblical allusion. Christians believe that all the Jews will convert to Christianity near the doomsday. So, this allusion refers to the doomsday.
