Words On

‘To His Coy Mistress’ Essay, Research Paper


Ryan Schmidt


English 114


David Upchurch


10/2/96


Words on “To His Coy Mistress”


Either you have sex with me or you die. This is a very strong


statement which, when said, has to get someone’s attention; and that is


exactly what Andrew Marvell intends for the reader in this poem. He


wants the undivided attention of this mistress so that he can scare her


and rush her into making a decision the way he wants and in due time.


Filled with time flavored symbolism, this carpe diem poem, “To His Coy


Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, exemplifies the seize the day theme.


The cyclical, life symbolizing river, the water flowing by like


time, is the first place Marvell places the characters. And even


though they are very far apart, time still flows by for them both. As


the water flows, this concept begins to hint at the shortness of time,


for them to have sex, the source of new life. He then proceeds to


claim that he could love her ten years before the flood, something


already ancient, and up to the end of the world, using the


juxtapositioning of the two views of time enhance his argument and to


convince to accept his offer by telling her of his long-term commitment


for her in the short-term. This flood also symbolizes life in the


fresh start of the new covenant. Because time keeps going, with or


without them, they must be active participants and not just the static


spectator. Otherwise, the fate Marvell relates would become their


reality.


Marvell’s vegetable love is rather oxymoronic. Love is not


normally like the uncaring, thoughtless, and noncommunicating plant.


And yet his love is vegetable in that it is not adaptable. She is the


water, food, and light for his love; and as long as she is there, he


will love her. She is evrerything that supports his love, and if she


is not there, his vegetable could not be supported and would die. His


idea of love seems to just be to say that he loves her for the


possibility that he can share carnal knowledge; however, this is why he


tries to convince her to seize the day. And because of this love he


felt they must take advantage of what time they have.


Next comes the threat of punishment if she happens to continue


down her dark path of stubborn unwillingness to engage with him.


Suddenly the desert is before them and beauty

is gone forever. The


life giving and symbolic water is gone. She’s dead and the worms are


her only company. These worms are symbolic of two different ideas.


First they are phallic in shape and do stand as phallic symbols. They


are also another cyclical representation of time, in that they are part


of the cycle that will break her body down into soil, feed the trees,


feed an animal, etc. So he tries scare her and to force her into the


decision to seize the day.


Marvell then stresses the youth she still possess and his plan to


save them. He talks about her youthful hue and the morning (of life /


youth) glow to remind her what she needs to save from the imposing grip


of her grave. He gets very aggressive and speeds up the meter to add


effect and urgency to his pleas. Then he talks about birds of prey,


Schmidt3


hurrying, and devouring to really twist the proverbial knife and to


convince her. After adoring her body for ages and wading through


innuendo, he says let us roll all our strength and all our sweetness


into one ball and says he wants to spend the rest of time with her


making the sun run.


Although the message in this poem is universal, throughout time,


Marvell’s methods are unique for his time. The fact that he used death


to persuade a less than eager woman is not new. The way he does it,


is. According to Paul Brians, from the English Department at


Washington State University, Marvell’s


imagery of death is so powerful, that the poem transcends


the cliched ‘lines’ of more frivolous writers to become a


stirring meditation on the importance of living fully


during the brief span allotted us (Brians).


Andrew Marvell tries in this carpe diem poem, “To His Coy


Mistress,” to use time and symbols to convince her to seize the day.


He uses the river, the worm and many direct references to time to


express the urgency of the situation. He then says that his love is


vegetable and that this coy mistress is the only one that can sustain


this living love. Then he threatens death, gets aggressive, and shows


her that her youth is fleeting, and that if she does not change, she


will be miserable.


Brians, Paul. “Study Guide for Classic English Love Poems,” Paul


Brians’ Homepage. n. pag. On-line. Internet. 3 Sept. 1996. Available:


http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~/love-in-the-arts/classic_english_love-


poems.html

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