To His Coy Mistress Summary & Analysis

About Poem: To His Coy Mistress

Poem Title	To His Coy Mistress
Author	Andrew Marvell
Date of publication	1681
Genre	Metaphysical poem
Theme	Carpe diem, love, and mortality
Form	Iambic tetrameter couplets
Key literary devices	Metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and personification
Famous lines	-Had we but world enough, and time. -This coyness, lady, were no crime. -But at my back I always hear -Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.

Themes: To His Coy Mistress

The themes of the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell are:

• Carpe diem: The speaker urges his mistress to seize the day and enjoy their love, arguing that time is short and life is uncertain.
• Love: The poem is a celebration of physical love and the power of passion.
• Mortality: The speaker reminds his mistress that they are both mortal and that their time together is limited.
• Urgency: The speaker implores his mistress to act quickly and not to let their love go to waste.

To His Coy Mistress Poem

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.

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To His Coy Mistress Summary & Analysis

To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell is a classic metaphysical poem that explores themes of time, love, and mortality. The poem is structured as a persuasive argument made by the speaker to his coy mistress, urging her to seize the moment and engage in a passionate relationship. Here’s a stanza-wise summary:

Stanza 1

The speaker begins by addressing his “coy mistress,” expressing his willingness to court her for an extended period if they had all the time in the world. He paints an idealistic picture of a gradual and endless courtship, using the river Ganges and the Humber (a British river) as symbols of timelessness.

Stanza 2

In this stanza, the speaker shifts to a more realistic and urgent tone. He acknowledges that they do not have the luxury of infinite time. He uses the imagery of a “vegetable love” to describe a love that grows slowly and gradually, which is impractical given the brevity of life. The use of “Deserts of vast Eternity” emphasizes the idea that time is vast and endless.

Stanza 3

The speaker uses the metaphor of a love song to illustrate how they could continue to sing praises to each other forever if they had the time. This serves to underline the idealized notion of love, but he quickly reminds his mistress that they do not have this luxury.

Stanza 4

This stanza takes a darker turn as the speaker describes the inevitability of death. He personifies time as a winged chariot hurrying near, which will carry them to the grave. The urgency and fear of mortality are evident as he describes the relentless march of time.

Stanza 5

The speaker then shifts from describing the threat of time to making a compelling argument. He tells his mistress that, since they cannot stop time, they should embrace the present and engage in physical intimacy while they still have the opportunity.

Stanza 6

The final stanza brings the argument to a close. The speaker tells his mistress that they should seize the moment and make the most of their time together, ignoring the constraints of societal morals or time’s passage. He suggests that their love will be even more powerful because it is fleeting and passionate.

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