To His Coy Mistress
Andrew Marvell's poems reveal a Witty delicacy, vigorous humour and union of grace and force. He is metaphysical in the sudden twist given to his ideas. "To His Coy Mistress" is his most popular poem which is characteristic of his style.
The main argument of the poem goes like this. If the lovers had enough time, the coyness on the part of the lady were no crime. They could sit-down and think which way to walk and spend the long day of love. She could find rubies by the side of the Gangs and he could go on complaining from the tide of thumber in England. He could love his beloved ten years before Noah's Flood and she could refuse his advances till the conversion of the jews. His vegetable love would grow vaster than empires and more slowly. He could praise one hundred years in praisng her eyes and gazing on her forehesd, four hundred years in admiring her breasts and thirty thousand years in on the remainind parts of the body. Also, he could spend an age on every part of her body and she could reveal her heart at last. the lady deserved such a prolonged and passionate adoration and the poet could also show his strong love for her in a fitting manner.
But the situation is different. Time fleets fast. When the devouring time comes, her beauty will die as well as his song worms will try her hard preserved verginty. Her honour as well as his lust will come to dust. The grave may be a fine private place for the lovers but unfortunately not a fit place to embrace each other. Therfore while the freshness of youth shines on them and the fire of passion glows, they must enjoy the pleasures of love. Though they cannot arrest time, they can make it run by not allowing to go waste.
The structure of the poem is one of formal syllogism. It is located in the renaissance tradition of formal logic and rhetoric. The poem is quite logical because it started as "Had we but world enough and time", a proposition contradictory to fact, and goes on to prove the fact.
"To His Coy Mistress" is a beautiful example of a fine metaphysical lyric. In the words of Grierson, it is the very roof and crown of the metaphysical love lyric at once fantastic and passionate.
Like it on Facebook, Tweet it or share this article on other bookmarking websites.