To His Coy Mistress (Masterplots II: Poetry Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Andrew Marvell
- First Published: 1681
- Type of Work: Lyric/dramatic monologue
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Love or romance, Beauty, Time, Animals, Deserts, Plants, Human anatomy, Dating, Leisure, Heart
The Poem
The pattern of “To His Coy Mistress” is, as befitting an argument, roughly syllogistic in form: If there were enough time, the speaker and his mistress could go on courting forever, but time is fast disappearing. Therefore, they must squeeze their joys into today; there is no time to be coy or aloof.
In the first section of the poem, the speaker delineates exactly how he would use the vast expanse of time stretching from before Noah’s flood to the end of time itself. There would be time to sit and think, time to stroll in leisurely fashion along the banks...
[The entire page is 1801 words long]
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