To His Coy Mistress - Essay Example

The masterly lyrical work “To a Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell is acclaimed by scholars as a metaphysical poem much longer after his death. The familiar theme presented by the poet is that of love – the declaration of a man’s love for a woman. In writing this poem, Marvell seemed to have looked over the shoulder of the male lover as he presented his plea of love to his sweetheart. The poem speaks of the young man’s desperation to fulfill his motivation of carnal desires.

“To His Coy Mistress” presents the fictional thoughts of the poet through the eyes of an impatient young man. The term “coy” informs the reader that the young woman is not an easy catch. In other words, she is not easily carried away. Besides suggesting that the word “coy” could mean a “sweetheart “ or a “lover”, it could also be the equivalent of a lady, manager, or courtesan.

The lady in “To His Coy Mistress” plays a kind of a cat and mouse game with her suitor in being shy and artfully demure and at the same time being playfully hesitant. She is well aware that the young man’s motivation is more of a carnal desire for her than true love. He urges her time and again to take advantage of the moment saying “Sport us while we may” telling her that dallying was not a good idea because youth passes quickly. He presses his case by telling her that the luxury of time is not with them for “time’s winged chariot is ever racing along’ and before they realize it, youth would have passed them by and only their graves would remain.

From the lady’s point of view, it is understood that her lover is not motivated by true love but by sheer carnal desire for her. She doesn’t seem to want to succumb to his charms and passion. Though her lover seems impatient and desperate, she does not relent. Though the lover suggests that time and their youth are passing them by and they should take advantage and enjoy the pleasure of each other presently, she stalls on this fact and does not want to give in to his passions. The silent female in this poem tries to be quite tolerant of her suitor and does not encourage his advances. She seems to be somewhat unhappy and dejected by the fact that the key motivation behind his advances is not that of love but of lust or carnal desire and passion. She would rather prefer that his desire for her would be centered on pure love than on fleeting passions.

This beautiful poem by Andrew Marvell – “To His Coy Mistress” has both crude and shocking imagery and gross exaggeration to drive home the point of unrequited love. Marvell’s use of logical argument in presenting the personal and romantic feelings of both lovers is exemplary. The desperation and intolerance of the man against the hesitant tolerance of the lady is what attracts the reader and makes the poem highly commendable.