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168 Unit 2 ■ Analyzing Comparisons and Representations Andrew Marvell ■ To His Coy Mistress 169 UNIT 2

7 25 Th y beauty shall no mor e be found; 7 SPEAKER The speaker attempts to persuade
Thy beauty shall no more be found;
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound the subject in this stanza of the urgency and
My echoing song; then worms shall try IDEAS IN LITERATURE value of enjoying their youth in the present
To His Coy Mistress 8 That long-preserved virginity, moment by arguing that before too long, they will
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
both perish.
And into ashes all my lust;
Andrew Marvell 30 And into ashes all my lust;
The grave’s a fine and private place, 8 COMPARISON The speaker compares the
But none, I think, do there embrace. subject’s “quaint honor” and his own “lust” to
THE TEXT IN CONTEXT 9 Now therefore, while the youthful hue represent their corporeal bodies, which eventually
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
No
while the y
e
,
outhful hue
w ther
efor
The poetry of Andrew Marvell (1621–1678), like the work of 10 Sits on thy skin like morning dew, decompose to dust or are burned to ashes.
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
other metaphysical poets, brims with vivid imagery, gaudy 35 And while thy willing soul transpires
metaphors, and brainy wit. In his most famous work, “To His At every pore with instant fires, 9 SHIFT Each stanza serves as a component of
Coy Mistress,” he uses a traditional form: the carpe diem (“seize 11 Now let us sport us while we may, a persuasive argument. While the first two stanzas
Now let us sport us while we may,
the day”) poem. This form has a long history, dating back over And now, like amorous birds of prey, present hypothetical scenarios, the final stanza
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
2,000 years to the work of the Roman poet Horace. Carpe diem Culture Club/Getty Images 12 Rather at once our time devour indicates a shift through this signal phrase in which
Rather at once our time devour
poems, like the following poem, urge an implied listener (almost the speaker issues a claim and a call to action.
always a woman) to live in the present and enjoy immediate 40 Than languish in his slow-chapped power.
Let us roll all our strength and all
pleasures. 13 Let us roll all our strength and all 10 SIMILE The speaker compliments the subject’s
Our sweetness up into one ball, beauty while also acknowledging the inherent
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife temporality of it (just as morning dew is beautiful
To His Coy Mistress 14 Through the iron gates of life: but quickly evaporates in the midday sun).
Through the iron gates of life:
Had we but world enough and time, 15 45 Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
This coyness, lady, were no crime. Stand still, yet we will make him run. 11 PRONOUNS The speaker returns once again
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
We would sit down, and think which way to referring to himself and the subject together as
To walk, and pass our long love’s day. he issues a call to action.
5 Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide 12 SIMILE Birds of prey are carnivorous birds
Of Humber would complain. I would (such as vultures, falcons, and eagles) that actively
hunt other organisms; the speaker calls upon the
Love you ten years before the flood, subject to “devour” their time with the initiative
And you should, if you please, refuse and energy that birds of prey use when hunting.
10 Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow 13 METAPHOR The speaker euphemistically
Vaster than empires and more slow; alludes to combining his and his lover’s strength
An hundred years should go to praise Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
and sweetness together and describes a
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze; The Swing (oil on canvas)/Fragonard, Jean-Honore (1732–1806) (after)/Musee Lambinet, tumultuous, pleasurable romp like a boulder
15 Two hundred to adore each breast, tearing through a gate.
But thirty thousand to the rest; Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
An age at least to every part, Look closely at Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s painting 14 METAPHOR The iron gates of life may refer to the
The Swing (1767), which depicts a woman in a
And the last age should show your heart. billowing dress kicking her heel up as the men rigid traditional values or expectations within their
For, lady, you deserve this state, Versailles, France/Bridgeman Images surround her and push her on the swing. lives (perhaps referring to pre-Renaissance Christian
20 Nor would I love at lower rate. customs of piety and purity). The gates may also
But at my back I always hear What does coy mean? How is the woman in the generally refer to the rest of their lives together.
Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near; painting being coy? How are the men reacting 15 COMPARISON The speaker closes by noting
And yonder all before us lie to her? that while he and the subject cannot stop the
Deserts of vast eternity. passing of time (making the sun stand still), they
can stay up all night enjoying themselves and
each other (chasing the sun or making the sun
“run”). The speaker laments the passing of time
but contrasts it with a call to enjoy the present
moment now and in the future.
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COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. The speaker opens the poem by musing that if only he and the lady had an abundance of
______, the lady’s coyness wouldn’t matter. [time] DIFFERENTIATION
2. Which creatures does the speaker describe as testing “that long-preserved virginity” after the Connections to Other Texts
lady had died? [worms]
3. By the end of the poem, the speaker urges the woman that if she is young, willing, and able, Marvell addresses his poem to a young woman who
has been playing “hard to get.” Ask students to
they should “_____” their time together rather than “languish” in it. [devour] assume the role of the person being addressed
4. Youth sits on the woman’s skin like what natural phenomenon? [Morning dew] (“the coy mistress”) and consider pop songs that
5. The speaker describes that his “vegetable love should grow / vaster than ________ and more could be appropriate responses to Marvell’s
slow.” [empires] invitation. Students might choose lyrics from artists
such as Miranda Lambert, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, Taylor
TRM Unit 2: Comprehension Check Digital Comprehension Check Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, or others. Have students
explain the respondent’s perspective in the song and
predict Marvell’s speaker’s reaction to the response.
Andrew Marvell To His Coy Mistress 169

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