Personification in to his coy mistress

To His Coy Mistress

To His Coy Mistress By Andrew Marvell

1621-1678

To His Coy Mistress

What do we understand from the title of the poem?

AO3: C17th – ‘To coy’ means ‘to stroke/ caress’

Had we but world enough and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.

We would sit down, and think which way

To walk, and pass our long love’s day.

Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

Of Humber would complain. I would

Love you ten years before the flood,

And you should, if you please, refuse

Till the conversion of the Jews.

My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires and more slow;

An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,

And the last age should show your heart.

For, lady, you deserve this state,

Nor would I love at lower rate.

To His Coy Mistress

But at my back I always hear

Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found;

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long-preserved virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust;

The grave’s a fine and private place,

But none, I think, do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

And while thy willing soul transpires

At every pore with instant fires,

Now let us sport us while we may,

And now, like amorous birds of prey,

Rather at once our time devour

Than languish in his slow-chapped power.

Let us roll all our strength and all

Our sweetness up into one ball,

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Through the iron gates of life:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run.

AO3: Context

Andrew Marvell 1621-1678 Metaphysical poet

Marvell was an associate of Donne. He was the son of a Church of England clergyman and attended Trinity College, Cambridge at the age of 13. His mother died in 1638 and his father drowned while crossing the Humber in 1640.

He lived during the interregnum – the period of time after Charles I’s execution [1649] and before the reinstatement of Charles II [1660]. England, Ireland and Scotland were, at this time, under the ‘protection’ of Oliver Cromwell.

After leaving Cambridge in 1641, the first of many mysterious periods in Marvell’s life occurred – he disappeared for six years. Some believe that he travelled abroad as a tutor; others believe that Marvell was on some “government business” in Europe, in other words, spying. A government afraid of a return to the Catholic religion used spies to seek out Catholic supporters in Europe and to inform on them.

This was not the only time he would take mysterious trips abroad.

Marvell and Politics Marvell was a mysterious man. Although he lived through the English Civil War, the part he played in it and his affiliations are ambiguous. Some of his poems demonstrate a royalist attitude, however others portray Charles I as incompetent and celebrated Cromwell.

He kept his true allegiances a well kept secret, managing to gain the favour of both parliamentarian and royalist causes, in an age when so many lost their lives for backing the wrong side at the wrong time. Despite working for Cromwell, he avoided any punishment when the monarchy was restored, retaining his seat as an MP for Hull under both governments.

Many of his satirical works were seen as too controversial and dangerous to be published in his name until after his death. One such work saw the printer imprisoned and a reward offered for the identification of its author. Once again, he escaped punishment.

In 1678, after 18 years in Parliament, Marvell died rather suddenly of a fever. Gossip of the time suggested that the Jesuits (a target of Marvell’s satire) had poisoned him. The epitaph on the monument erected to his memory pays tribute to his politics, not his poetry.

So what’s all this got to do with a ‘coy mistress’?

At the time this poem was written, Marvell was serving as a tutor to the daughter of the retired commander of the New Model Army, Sir Thomas Fairfax.

Even though he was a bachelor when he died, his housekeeper Mary Palmer claimed that they had been secretly married in 1667. However, her claims were believed to be dubious and motivated by a claim to his estate.

Marvell lived in a time of upheaval and uncertainty. Much of his poetry deals with ideas of existence and truth. His poetry is also humorous, using satire to attack or mock others.

This poem is a famous example of ‘carpe diem’ –

seize the day – poetry. These poems urge us to make the most of today, for who knows what tomorrow brings. We should not pointlessly wait for death to arrive. This idea clashes with the Puritanical ideals of the time, which emphasised the importance of denying personal pleasures in order to prepare oneself for meeting God in death.

AO2: Language

Had we but world enough, and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.

‘Coy’ - shyness, reserve,

unwillingness – it was

fashionable for women to behave

in this way at the time – at least

initially How does this pronoun help to

persuade his mistress? Theme is immediately introduced –

brevity of human life and pursuits vs time – Carpe Diem: seize the

day

The speaker’s argument begins by

posing a problem.

• What is the problem?

• What is he trying to achieve?

• What is the effect of the words

‘had we’? (i.e. what do they suggest

straight away about the ideal world

he is describing?)

What does the use of the word ‘crime’ imply here?

We would sit down and think which way

To walk, and pass our long love's day;

How does the speaker’s use of language add to the idea of an ideal world?

Identify any words which suggest stillness or calm. Try saying these lines out loud, paying close attention to any vowel sounds – what is the effect?

Thou by the Indian Ganges' side

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

Of Humber would complain.

c.1650 – time of

exploration and

discovery – the

British Empire

had spread to

India. How does

the idea of

conquest add to

the poem?

What is the effect and

purpose of this

comparison?

Her: by the side of the

River Ganges in India

with rubies Him: by the side of the

River Humber in Hull

AO3: The Ganges is considered sacred and holy. At this time it was also seen as (and was!) pure and pristine.

In this ideal world they are far apart. How does the speaker represent himself? [Note: A ‘complaint’ is another word for a love poem.]

I would

Love you ten years before the Flood;

And you should, if you please, refuse

Till the conversion of the Jews.

AO3: Biblical Flood / Noah’s Ark Over 4000 years ago.

AO3: In Christian texts – just before the end of the world.

How

long?

What is the speaker suggesting about his love for his mistress?

What is it she would be refusing?

If this is hyperbole, do you think Marvell might be mocking love poems that use such grand language?

My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires, and more slow.

Why does he compare his love to a slow growing vegetable?

Why does he use the phrase ‘vaster than empires”?

Think about the different interpretations of this idea.

“My vegetable love”

AO3: Aristotle suggested that there are different kinds of ‘soul’. One of these is the ‘vegetative soul’ which governs nutrition and the growth of living things. This is linked to the idea of ‘natural love’, linking the earth to the heavenly bodies. It is an ideal form of love, in contrast to the ‘sensible’ [i.e. of the senses] love of physical and sexual attraction.

This suggests, then, that Marvell’s ‘vegetable love’ is a natural, organic love that grows without pressure or prompt. Their love will grow slowly, naturally, and in a pure, heavenly way.

It’s also a pun, referencing the penis. “should grow/ Vaster than empires, and more slow”

AO4/5: An extract from Marvell’s poem The Garden, in which the narrator wanders through a blooming paradise.

What wondrous life is this I lead Ripe apples drop about my head ; The luscious clusters of the vine

Upon my mouth do crush their wine ; The nectarine and curious peach

Into my hands themselves do reach ; Stumbling on melons as I pass,

Insnared with flowers, I fall on grass.

The garden is practically forcing its fruits on the poet, except that he’s so willing: the tree fruits places themselves into his hands, the ground fruits trip him. This poem is part of a collage of art and poetry that imagine Eden as bursting with fruits, not with vegetables. Fruit is easy: if it’s ripe, it’s already ready to eat, already flavorful and sweet, no cooking or seasoning necessary. Vegetables require labor, which surely no paradise would require. So that’s a possibility: perhaps Marvell was contrasting this vegetable love–slow-growing, requiring a lot of maintenace–to the ease with which he wished she could be plucked.

(Words to Eat By, by Ina Lipkowitz),

An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,

And the last age should show your heart.

How is time used to praise and flatter her?

In what way does he expect that she will ‘show her heart’?

For, lady, you deserve this state,

Nor would I love at lower rate.

He called her “Mistress” before. Why does he now call her “lady”?

What is he saying here?

But at my back I always hear

Time's winged chariot hurrying near;

What is the significance of this ‘But’? How does it change the tone and pace of the poem?

Contrast this line to the slow pace of stanza 1. How and why has it changed?

Where have we seen such a personification of time before? What is the effect of this?

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

After death = nothing. A

controversial idea for the time,

rejecting the idea of heaven. For

them, death approaches and it

is barren and dry.

Desert image: barren, no sex =

no children = dull relationship.

Compare this to the ‘vegetable

love’ from stanza 1.

What do the ‘deserts of vast eternity’ refer to? What is he suggesting about their reality? Why can they not wait in an idealised fashion?

Thy beauty shall no more be found,

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song;

What is the ‘marble vault’ he is referring to? What else does he suggest about his mistress? What will happen to his praise (‘song’) from stanza 1?

then worms shall try

That long preserv'd virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust.

The grave's a fine and private place,

But none I think do there embrace.

What shocking image does he present to his mistress here?

AO3: ‘Quaint’ = charming or sweet. It is also a c17th pun for vagina.

What are ‘dust’ and ‘ashes’ reminiscent of? How do they add to the picture the speaker is painting for his mistress?

then worms shall try

That long preserv'd virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust.

The grave's a fine and private place,

But none I think do there embrace.

This rhyming couplet of ‘dust’ and ‘lust’ sets out the choice the mistress is presented with: death or sex. This is then summed up in the final couplet of the stanza.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

And while thy willing soul transpires

At every pore with instant fires,

‘Now therefore’ – the poet returns to reality. This stanza is the logical outcome of what he has presented to his mistress (If we had time… but we don’t because death is approaching…). How does he change the tone once more?

The idea of perspiration is created here: 1. Morning dew 2. Your ‘willing soul’ (i.e. a soul which is alive and obvious at ‘every pore’) 3. ‘Transpires’ = ‘to come to light’ / ‘to happen’ / part of the process of photosynthesis where the flower loses water / rhymes with perspires

Why might the mistress be perspiring? (Or, more correctly, why might the speaker wish her to be/what does he think her soul is ‘willing’ to do? ) How does this link to ‘instant fires’?

How is a ‘youthful hue’ like morning dew? How does this link to the previous stanza?

Now let us sport us while we may;

And now, like amorous birds of prey,

Rather at once our time devour,

Than languish in his slow-chapp'd power.

The speaker offers the options: 1. We devour time like ‘amorous birds of prey’ 2. We ‘languish’ in the slow, devouring jaws of time

What is he suggesting? How does this fit in with his overall argument so far?

Slow devouring jaws of time.

What does ‘sport’ suggest about what he wants them to do?

What effect do these images have? Do they fit with ‘sport’?

Let us roll all our strength, and all

Our sweetness, up into one ball;

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Through the iron gates of life.

Notice the use of the plural pronoun: highlight any use of ‘us’ or ‘our’. Why does the speaker use this here? What is he trying to do?

Break down the “iron gates” of time, i.e. death – together they can control

The poet’s use of alliteration links ‘strength’ and ‘sweetness’. What is the effect of this? [Hint: is this more positive or negative language than before?]

Let us roll all our strength, and all

Our sweetness, up into one ball;

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Through the iron gates of life.

Even though the speaker emphasises the ‘strength’ and ‘sweetness’ of their union, which ultimately allows them to control time and death, look at the type of language used in these lines. What could ‘tear’ and ‘rough strife’ refer to? Does your answer to the first question above affect your ideas?

AO5: The idea of a ‘ball’ here is much discussed. Some critics see this as a reference to the enclosed space and intimacy of sex; others find an allusion to a cannonball, signifying a determination to succeed in a battle against time and death together. What do you think?

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run.

The speaker returns to the image of sun and time. What is his final point? [Hint: remember that the sun, in Marvell’s time, was thought to control time – i.e. they thought it literally revolved around the earth. Its personification was also a metaphor for time itself. Time also represented death. What is the speaker suggesting they can do, here? And how?]

On the surface, this poem is about the attempted seduction of a woman…what is the message underneath about how we should live our lives? [Hint: remember that Marvell is a metaphysical poet!]

What is the effect of the word ‘will’?

AO2: Imagery

Tempus Fugit [Time Flies!] / Memento Mori [Remember Death!] / Carpe Diem [Seize the Day!]

Stanza 1: Marvell uses a conditional statement [If… then…]. If time did not fly, then we could take all the time in the world to consummate our relationship.

Stanza 2: BUT time is flying and we must act now. Death is nigh. Your honour will turn to dust and my lust to ashes.

Stanza 3: Therefore, seize the day. We should attack each other like mating falcons, embracing our mortality: “at once our time devour”. “Thus, though we cannot make our sun/ Stand still, yet we will make him run.”

Time and Space

The poem is repeatedly concerned with time and space.

Stanza 1:

Had I but world enough and time

Thou by the Indian Ganges side

Of Humber would complain. I would

space

There is a huge distance (space) between the Indian Ganges and the Humber in England. This distance will not affect the speaker’s love for his mistress.

Time and Space

The poem is repeatedly concerned with time and space.

Stanza 2:

But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near

Deserts of vast eternity.

time

space

There are plenty more references to time and space: how many can you find?

AO2: Form / Structure

Had we but world enough and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.

We would sit down, and think which way

To walk, and pass our long love’s day.

Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

Of Humber would complain. I would

Love you ten years before the flood,

And you should, if you please, refuse

Till the conversion of the Jews.

My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires and more slow;

An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,

And the last age should show your heart.

For, lady, you deserve this state,

Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear

Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found;

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long-preserved virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust;

The grave’s a fine and private place,

But none, I think, do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

And while thy willing soul transpires

At every pore with instant fires,

Now let us sport us while we may,

And now, like amorous birds of prey,

Rather at once our time devour

Than languish in his slow-chapped power.

Let us roll all our strength and all

Our sweetness up into one ball,

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Through the iron gates of life:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run.

THESIS: The ‘ideal’ state [’HAD we…’]

ANTITHESIS: The real situation [‘BUT at…’]

SYNTHESIS: What has to be done as necessary conclusion [‘NOW therefore…’]

Had we but world enough and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.

We would sit down, and think which way

To walk, and pass our long love’s day.

Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

Of Humber would complain. I would

Love you ten years before the flood,

And you should, if you please, refuse

Till the conversion of the Jews.

My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires and more slow;

An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,

And the last age should show your heart.

For, lady, you deserve this state,

Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear

Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found;

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long-preserved virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust;

The grave’s a fine and private place,

But none, I think, do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

And while thy willing soul transpires

At every pore with instant fires,

Now let us sport us while we may,

And now, like amorous birds of prey,

Rather at once our time devour

Than languish in his slow-chapped power.

Let us roll all our strength and all

Our sweetness up into one ball,

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Through the iron gates of life:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run.

Rhyming couplets: Stanza 1 – ten couplets Stanza 2 – six couplets Stanza 3 – seven couplets

Why this number?

• This poem is a dramatic monologue

• The silent listener (the mistress) is addressed but we do

not hear her voice

• There is the sense that we, the reader, are eavesdropping

on an intimate conversation

• The speaker is anonymous and we are given no

information about him or his mistress

• The poem is written in iambic tetrameter [i-AM x 4]

I do not like green eggs and ham

I do not like them Sam I Am

• The regular “sing-song” rhythm and rhyme creates a

“comic” feel which contrasts strongly with the underlying

theme of life and death

AO4/5: Links and Interpretations

Marvell’s speaker, who apparently has been searching for the meaning of existence, has determined that life is transitory, that there is no afterlife, and that the only option left is for him in his life is to fully indulge in carnal pleasure.

The poem is an ironic statement on sexual seduction. The

speaker’s argument that sex will help him control time is

meant ironically and ultimately comments on the fleeting

nature of sexual pleasure.

For the speaker, dying is the ultimate lack of control.

Which, if any, of these statements do you agree with?

His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell

by A.D. Hope

Since you have world enough and time Sir, to admonish me in rhyme, Pray Mr Marvell, can it be You think to have persuaded me? Then let me say: you want the art To woo, much less to win my heart. The verse was splendid, all admit, And, sir, you have a pretty wit. All that indeed your poem lacked Was logic, modesty, and tact, Slight faults and ones to which I own, Your sex is generally prone; But though you lose your labour, I Shall not refuse you a reply:

First, for the language you employ: A term I deprecate is "coy"; The ill-bred miss, the bird-brained Jill, May simper and be coy at will; A lady, sir, as you will find, Keeps counsel, or she speaks her mind, Means what she says and scorns to fence And palter with feigned innocence.

The ambiguous "mistress" next you set Beside this graceless epithet. "Coy mistress", sir? Who gave you leave To wear my heart upon your sleeve? Or to imply, as sure you do, I had no other choice than you And must remain upon the shelf Unless I should bestir myself? Shall I be moved to love you, pray, By hints that I must soon decay? No woman's won by being told How quickly she is growing old; Nor will such ploys, when all is said, Serve to stampede us into bed.

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To say the least, the scene you paint

Is, what you call my honour, quaint!

And on this point what prompted you

So crudely, and in public too,

To canvass and , indeed, make free

With my entire anatomy?

Poets have licence, I confess,

To speak of ladies in undress;

Thighs, hearts, brows, breasts are well

enough,

In verses this is common stuff;

But—well I ask: to draw attention

To worms in—what I blush to mention,

And prate of dust upon it too!

Sir, was this any way to woo?

When from pure blackmail, next you move

To bribe or lure me into love,

No less inept, my rhyming friend,

Snared by the means, you miss your end.

"Times winged chariot", and the rest

As poetry may pass the test;

Readers will quote those lines, I trust,

Till you and I and they are dust;

But I, your destined prey, must look

Less at the bait than at the hook,

Nor, when I do, can fail to see

Just what it is you offer me:

Love on the run, a rough embrace

Snatched in the fury of the chase,

The grave before us and the wheels

Of Time's grim chariot at our heels,

While we, like "am'rous birds of prey",

Tear at each other by the way.

Now therefore, while male self-regard

Sits on your cheek, my hopeful bard,

May I suggest, before we part,

The best way to a woman's heart

Is to be modest, candid, true;

Tell her you love and show you do;

Neither cajole nor condescend

And base the lover on the friend;

Don't bustle her or fuss or snatch:

A suitor looking at his watch

Is not a posture that persuades

Willing, much less reluctant maids.

Remember that she will be stirred

More by the spirit than the word;

For truth and tenderness do more

Than coruscating metaphor.

Had you addressed me in such terms

And prattled less of graves and worms,

I might, who knows, have warmed to you;

But, as things stand, must bid adieu

(Though I am grateful for the rhyme)

And wish you better luck next time.

What point is this poet making? Is it a valid one? Does it add anything to your understanding or appreciation of Marvell’s poem?

AO1: What kind of love is presented in this poem?

Think about: • The characteristics of love • The representation of the people involved • The feelings of the speaker • Any imagery or language used • The way the structure and form reflects this

You can either: Write a side of A4 to explain your answer.

Write a detailed plan of your answer.

Make sure you include and analyse quotations from the text.

Fill in your CLIFS sheet for this poem. Remember, this will be a revision aid!