To His Coy Mistress

A detailed Summary of To His Coy Mistress


We all have the choice either to take advantage of time or allow time to take advantage of us. This is the idea presented in To His Coy Mistress, a poem by Andrew Marvell. In this poem, the opportunity of living life to the fullest or choosing to squander your time is supplied through symbolism. Symbolism is conveying impressions by suggestion rather than by direct statements. Using symbolism to express ideas makes it possible to visualize situations presented, and in this case it makes time seem almost visible.

Time is symbolized through a lover attempting to lure a woman into engaging in sexual relations with him. The idea that time is running out is asserted throughout the poem, as time is the lover's excuse for wanting this sort of relationship so urgently. The very first line, "Had we but world enough, and time" brings out the f


ocus of time directly. It is then reinforced through hyperbole in the following phrases such as "A 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." These lines symbolize the lack of time the lover has to show his mistress the adoration she is worthy of, "For, Lady, you deserve this state." Marvell then continues on to symbolize the lack of time using other literary devices.

The lover feels compelled to act immediately in convincing his mistress to make love to him. "Rather at once our time devour" shows the urgency of it all. "Now therefore, while the youthful hue / Sits on thy skin like morning dew," represents also the need for immediate action while she is still young and it is still early. In lines 45 - 46, "Thus we cannot make our sun / Stand still, ye

Some common words found in the essay are:
Andrew Marvell, ANDREW MARVELL, Coy Mistress, living life, andrew marvell, living life fullest, symbolize lack, lover feels, life fullest, coy mistress,

Approximate Word count = 604
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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