To His Coy Mistress

"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell

Metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell is famous for his poem, "To His Coy Mistress". This is a carpe diem style poem where the writer encourages his love to seize the day. He is basically trying to persuade his love into pre-marital physical intimacy. By today's standards, Marvell seems like a chauvinistic jerk, especially in his selfish nature. However, I agree with a lot of what he stands for in the poem, such as not taking the present time for granted. This poem is representative of the selfish love we often see. Love that is based on physical attraction rarely lasts.

Never once did Andrew Marvell's poem show the point of view of his love. That leaves the question did he succeed in his effort. The whole time he is trying to convince her that having sex now will be better than waiting until they are married. Marriage is not mentioned in the poem, but speaking in current social terms, marriage is not his goal. He seeks instant gratification with his "mistress." She is portrayed as not being ready to give him what he wants. His urgency is criticized because he is not thinking of the consequences. What if he gets her pregnant? This unanswered question, along with the mistress not being ready, makes the irritating gentleman seem unsophisticated and ungentlemanly. Most men have a desire for sex, but it is my opinion that the desire for sex grows with the knowledge of what it is really like.

Readers could view the speaker of this poem to be speaking sweetly to get what he wants, or if he truly feels this passionately about his mistress. It is my opinion that he is not even speaking of passion whatsoever. He is moved by sexual desire and lust. He does not even want to give her time to think about whether or not this is the right thing to do. The poet says some sweet things to his mistress about her appearance and that if he has to, he will wait. However, after he sweet talks her, he then pressures for the physical completion of their relationship. He "always hears time's winged chariot hurrying near"