What’s the Point?
This poem is a dramatic monologue. It is written in the character of a man who is trying to seduce a woman. The reader is not necessarily supposed to agree with the man's arguments.
The poem is called To HIS Coy Mistress which suggests that it is not Marvell's own voice that we hear in the poem.
The man is arguing that we should "seize the day" (which is carpe diem in Latin). He thinks that life moves fast and that you should take pleasure as and when it comes up. The belief that you should live life for pleasure is called hedonism.
It is unlikely that Andrew Marvell was a big believer in hedonism, He was a political reformer and despised fast living and "carnal pleasures". It is very likely that this is a satirical poem and that the reader is supposed to dislike the speaker. Marvell was most famous for his many political, satirical poems.
Where’s my Evidence?
- An hundred years would go to praise/ Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze
- For, Lady, you deserve this state/ nor would I love at lower rate.
- worms shall try/ thy long preserved virginity
- Now let us sport us while we may
- like amorous birds of prey
How do I Analyse this?
Form: This poem is a dramatic monologue written in a three part argument structure. It is written from the point of view of a man who is trying to get some woman to climb into bed with him. He does not promise marriage or commitment as an honorable man would have at this time, He just promises "rough strife" and to take her virginity (lucky girl - who can resist an offer like that?).
He uses an argument structure. The first part of the poem tells this woman how he would love to spend time complimenting her; the second part tells her that he can't because we're all going to die; and the third part tells her what he wants to do. The use of a formal structure has the effect of making the speaker seem quite calculated and cold. This contrasts with his passionate, spontaneous persona, perhaps giving the reader a clue that he is not quite as lost in his passion as he pretends to be.
The first part of the argument is a satire of the blason from. This can be seen in Romeo and Juliet and was popular in Renaissance times. Blasons were like Just the Way you Are by Bruno Mars. Poets listed all the parts of the girl's body and said how perfect each one was. It was as rubbish then as it is now. Marvell is satrising (taking the mick out of) this kind of drivel.
Imagery: The listing of body parts is very sexualised and emphasises the fact that this poem is about eros or physical love rather than a more spiritual or agape love. He uses hyperbole to exaggerate how long he would spend adoring each body part which might sound quite sweet, but the quote "all the rest" feels careless and suggests that he can't even be bothered to list each part in this first stanza. He also finishes this part of the poem talking about a "lower rate" which suggests a financial transaction and undermines (takes away from) any romanticism in the previous lines.
The second stanza uses a lot of imagery about death. there is the particularly gruesome image of "worms" taking her virginity. This means that when she dies, she will be eaten by worms but is also an allusion to sex. He is trying to frighten the woman in this stanza by reminding her that she will inevitably die.
The final part has a lot of violent images. There is a simile "like amorous birds of prey" and a metaphor "tear our pleasures/ with rough strife". And the speaker personifies the sun saying that "we will make him run". This is quite a far cry from the romantic and sweetness in the first stanza. Moreover words like "devour" and "fires" and "languish" all connote hell. Although the speaker might be urging this woman into bed with a sort of carpe diem, YOLO urgency, the subtext is that if you engage too freely in the pleasures of the flesh (sex), you might find your soul being condemned to eternal damnation (hell).
Form: The poet uses a galloping iambic tetrameter throughout which lends the poem pace and urgency. He doesn't want to wait around and the rhythm reflects the quick pace at which he wants to live. The rhyming couplets emphasise this and are commonly used in love poetry to promote the idea of unity.
The use of enjambement and alliteration in "our sun/ stand still" emphasises the speed with which he wants them to live their lives.
The use of modal verbs (would/ should) in the first stanza and the use of the conditional (if) at the beginning, immediately lets the reader know that he has no intention of doing any of this romancing.
Note the change in pronouns: stanza 1 = "I"; stanza 2 = "you"; stanza 3 = "we". Why do you think this is?
What is the Reader supposed to feel?
I quite enjoy this poem. There is something about its energy that is very enticing and something about its audacity and carpe diem message that appeals to a twenty first century point of view. However, I find the voice of the speaker quite sinister and forceful. He is not affectionate at all towards this woman he is seducing and his audacity, although entertaining, is clearly not rooted in any feeling other than the desire to have a quick "roll in the hay".
I think it's quite a tricky poem because it is so old and almost impossible to access if you don't have any context for Marvell, his beliefs and his life. Marvell takes the "pleasures of the flesh" far more seriously than it is possible to take them today - he lived in a very different world and the consequences of casual sex, particularly for a woman at this time, could be catastrophic. It wasn't just socially taboo, it could also result in syphilis (a very frightening and prevalent disease which was incurable) or an unwanted pregnancy outside marriage.
I find it difficult to relate to the idea of anyone taking casual sex so seriously but I think he captures the voice of a predatory man perfectly and perhaps gives us some insight into how little the art of seduction has changed over the ages...
How can I Link this to what the writer is saying?
Marvell spent his life fighting corruption in Parliament and probably dealing with people who wanted to live their lives in this way. I think that he is extremely scornful of this point of view and believes that only a fool would risk eternal damnation for fleeting pleasure. He is satirizing seduction and he does it very impressively. His control of imagery and poetic form is masterful and muti-layered, making this poem a real pleasure to pick apart.
How can I Link this to another poem?
The Farmer's Bride - another dramatic monologue, another man who is thinking mainly about his own needs.
Sonnet 116 - a poem about agape love which contrasts well with to his Coy Mistress. it uses some similar rhetorical devices and also has many layers of possible meaning.
In Paris With You - Another dramatic monologue in the voice of a sleazy guy.
