In today’s modern age, only 3% of the American population will wait until marriage before they partake in sexual intercourse. In fact, the idea of “sex before marriage” is so commonplace, one would consider a chaste man or woman to be either a religious fanatic or so unappealing, they never had the chance. But during the mid 1600’s of England, a transitional time period as both society and culture was shifting from the era of Renaissance to that of Enlightenment, it was expected of women to have their maidenhood intact until the night of their wedding. If not, she would then be subject to ridicule and shame. Andrew Marvell, in such a transitional era, challenged this notion under the pretense of “Carpe Diem,” a latin phrase for “seize the day.” Of Marvell’s many poems, “To His Coy Mistress,” laments on the brevity of life in a rather overzealous attempt to persuade his female audience to give in to his lustful sexual advances without marriage. Although his poem can be interpreted as a warning, in just three major claims, Marvell masterfully weaves together his argument, specifically incorporating allusions, metaphors, and a clear mood shift to substantiate his point.
By the end of the first twenty lines, the persona attains a practically impossible perspective of love through his various claims that entire ages of time would be necessary to adequately honor this lady’s beauty; essentially, it is impossible to love her in such a short time as that of one’s lifetime. With the use of effective hyperboles, he argues that he would need hundreds of years to admire her eyes, two hundred for each breast, and then “An age at least to every part” for the rest of her body (Marvell Line 17). Though the speaker makes it quite obvious he is attracted to her physically, he does takes care, however, to ensure that her “heart,” –a symbol of both her character and inner beauty– deserves the most attention in this exaggeration of time. In a direct contrast, the persona mentions both the Ganges river, an exotic and distant river in India known to be a symbol of purity and innocence, and the Humber river, a typical and more local tidal river located in Britain over four thousand and five hundred miles away. Following this comparison, he describes the lady finding rubies, a rich and majestic gemstone considered to be the queen of all stones, while he walks along the shore with only his lowly love complaint. In doing so, it exemplifies the beauty and rarity of this lady; she is truly a queen, both regal and pure, in comparison. Thus, the contrast between these two rivers serves to compliment on both her innocence and queenly charm whilst also adding a geographical element to the impossibility of their love. Not only do they not have enough time, but they are here at this place together as opposed to being thousands of miles apart, which could be the cause for the speakers “complain[ing]” (Line 7). Continuing on his portfolio of ideas, the persona suggests that they could spend their days lounging about together, but reminds his listener that although he would love her a whole ten years before the “Flood” occurred, she would have until the “conversion of the jews” to refuse it (Line 8-10). In this important allusion, the biblical flood from the Book of Genesis is a remark equivalent to “the beginning of time” and should his female audience have any clue of the strength of belief amongst the Jewish people, she would realize that a conversion from the Jews would never occur and Marvell’s speaker is essentially referring to, “forever.” Putting the two ideas together, the speaker uses these two allusions to claim a love that is timeless; he would be devoted this woman until forever, even if she refuses him. In using such religious allusions, Marvell’s speaker not only emphasizes just how long he would love her, but the religious connotations build on the idea that their love would be impossible to achieve as they will never reach such a godly and heavenly love as he would like to. In addition to employing poetic devices to highlight his argument, Marvell’s choice in form and punctuation seem to slow down the poem in its entirety. Even in the first two lines, “Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, lady, were no crime,” Marvell achieves a reduction in pace whilst keeping within the boundaries of iambic tetrameter in his poem. And the alliteration throughout the poem –“we would,” “which way,” “long love’s,” and “should show” — create a flow that adds to the slow and lyrical perception that time is of no consequence. To end his argument, the speaker cunningly remarks that the lady “deserves[s] this state” of love and he would not dare to even “love at [a] lower rate” (19-20). Ironically enough, when contrasted with line one, where he announces that they do not have “world enough, and time” to spend, this impossible statement allows the speaker to make a romantic promise he knows he will not have to keep.
At the start of the 21st line, a dramatic change in mood exemplify the speaker’s next argument on the basis of mortality. With a big switch to dark imagery, he reminds the woman that they are in fact mortal and live rather terribly short lives that do not have bright futures. The mood shift can be identified within the first couplet as we not only begin with a challenging conjunction –“But”– that marks the beginning of the contrasting opposition this section will detail further, but there is also a noticeable change in pace. Compared to the first couplet of the poem, lines twenty-one and twenty-two are read at a faster pace due to a deliberate lack of punctuation. In fact, the entirety of this section significantly lacks extra punctuation, leaving the speaker nearly breathless by the end of it. Marvell’s intentional change in pace emphasizes his argument on the brevity of life, along with his selection of dark metaphors. The persona begins with the last ethereal image in the poem, “Time’s winged chariot hurrying near” which takes the phrase “time flies” quite literally (21). The word “chariot” also carries the connotation of the greek god, Apollo, and his chariot driven by four white horses. This youthful god is the patron of poetry, music, and the sun and in greek mythology, is known to fly across the sky, bringing the sunset. Hence, this phrase further emphasizes the idea of time running out as a sunset marks the end of events (days, lives, time, etc). This metonymy, a chariot in the place of time itself, strikes the end of time for both the persona and his mistress. He then reminds her of the “vast eternity” they face in their future, which he believes to be quite dreary as only “deserts” lies ahead of them (23-24). He takes care to mention that she will lose her youthful beauty in old age and points out that once they are dead, she will not be able to hear his “echoing song” of love. What is wonderful about this section is that the persona never explicitly states “death” but implies it through the use of dark imagery and metonymy; “marble vault,” “dust,” “worms,” and “ashes” are just a few examples (26-30). In his attempt to persuade her to give up her chasteness now, the persona fabricates this gross image of worms eating away at “preserv’d virginity” because she did not bother to give it away while she was alive (28). Moreover, he suggests that keeping her chastity would ultimately be useless as her “quaint honor” would only “turn to dust” (29). To end on a less somber note, however, the persona includes a more humorous final couplet where he remarks that no couple can love and caress another when dead. Though quite morbid, there is truth in that statement that serves as a deliberate reminder of the limitation of time (Scruton). By bringing up a repulsive image and questioning the value of her morals after death, the persona effectively creates a convincing argument in his favor. He makes the solid claim that life is short and they do not have all the time in the world, while his word choices, mood shift, and tone all work to criticize the idea of waiting.
In a final poetic effort to convince his female listener to sleep with him, the persona, like in any other persuasive essay, ends his argument with a call to action. This is evidenced by the first two words, “Now, therefore,” which are commanding indicators of his call to act. Specifically, Marvell includes anaphora of the word “Now,” stressing the importance of taking action in the present. Now is the time where these lovers can take action to change their morbid future and Marvell takes care to really stress that assertion. The speaker continues with a simile, comparing his lady’s youth to that of morning dew. Such a delightful image not only brings the poem back to a more light-hearted and bright mood, but also emphasizes the fact that her youth will not last, as morning dew only ever exists in the morning. He further attracts his audience with personification, suggesting her very own soul that is young and alive and full of energy will “transpire / At every pore with instant fires” (35-36). Contrasting with the previous morbid section, where he implies a dreary future if they were to wait, he makes the idea of making love now seem more appealing and enticing. Moreover, the persona suggests that they can “devour” their time if they were to “sport” now, as opposed to waste away “in [time’s] slow-chapped power” (38-39). By taking initiative now and truly seizing the day, these two lovers can conquer time and his destructive potential. In fact, the persona specifically emphasizes the fleetingness of time through various phrases: “while the youthful hue / Sits on thy skin,” “while thy willing soul transpires,” “let us sport us while we may” (Scruton). In a final plea, he begs for the lady to form a “ball” with all their “sweetness” and “strength,” a suggestion that implies their passionate union should they have sex together (41-42). He further states that they should break through the “iron gates of life,” a metaphor for the constricting rules of society that deem all women should be chaste until marriage. Finally, he ends with a closing plea comprised of a couplet that accepts they cannot change time, similar to his argument of “Now,” but suggests that they can “make him run” should they engage in sexual intercourse now. In the final culmination of his argument, the speaker reaches an intense climax that brings together his argument, mimicking his desire to bring themselves together, and ends with a final persuasive push for sex that is passionate enough to affect even the sun (Spacey).
While most view Marvell’s poem a romantic love and lust poem, some consider it for its metaphysical value. If one were to re-examine the final stanza where the speaker urges action, his word choice and violent imagery suggest a more problematic vision of love (Swanson). First, the persona compares the two lovers to “birds of prey,” an animalistic simile that fabricates an odd image in support of his argument (38). His word choices further describe a violent and rough love where they would “devour” time and “tear” through their pleasures with “rough strife” (39-41). He uses awkward images such as “iron gates” and “languish in slow-chapped power” to further his argument as well. Compared to the romantic, lighthearted images of the first section, the speaker’s more off-setting imagery and word choices suggest a love that is not affectionate or romantic, but more indistinctly vicious and threatening. Although on the surface this final stanza might be a romantic last gesture to persuade his audience, hidden underneath it seems the speaker is offering a warning instead. Should this lady give in and have sexual intercourse, would it really be all that he makes it out to be?
In his time, Marvell, along with other fellow metaphysical poets, challenged the rules of society through the creation of such lustful poems as these in hopes of seducing a women to bed. He first persuades his female audience by exclaiming the hyperbolic exaggerations of the love she deserves, idealizing what their relationship would be like had they “but world enough, and time.” In doing so, he makes a promise that they both know he cannot keep while leading into his next point on the mortality of life. Simply put, they do not have the time to wait and spend their lives together. Finally, he ends his argument in hopes his listener will take action “Now” while they can “sport as [they] may.” By pointing out the brevity of life, Marvell is able to make a clean argument that questions whether or not people, chaste women in particular, are spending their lives wisely. However, these lines are more than just the typical love complaint. Marvell’s poem transcends the standard for romance by questioning the value of morals in one’s life when constantly in the face of death. When living our lives, should we focus on the afterlife or the present moment now? Are we living our lives wisely? After death, is morality even of any value? With his change in mood shifts and ambiguous language, the metaphysical poet manages to avoid providing a simple, conventional answer and instead provokes the reader to discover the truth himself.