Of the many persuasive techniques used in both Marvell’s and Montagu’s poems, gentle persuasion is one of them. Marvell starts his poem with a soft, gentle tone of voice:
“If we had world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, would be no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day.”
This quotation shows what Marvell would do if they had ‘all the time in the world’. He then goes on to reveal that he would want to sit down and talk about how they would walk together, passing time. A couple walking together hand-in-hand is a romantic image that Marvell uses to persuade the female persona. Another affectionate idea is:
“…I would
Love you ten years before the Flood.
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.”
This quotation is another part of the first stanza where there are two biblical references “the Flood”, referring to Noah’s Flood and “the conversion of the Jews” which is when the next Messiah arrives which is, in reality, never. So what Marvell is implying is that he will love his mistress from the beginning to the end of time, forever, for eternity.
In contrast, Montagu’s poem does not have many instances of gentle persuasion. The only occasion being the first section, the only section where Montagu shows no anger towards men and does not insult or abuse men:
“Is it to me, this sad lamenting strain?
Are heaven’s choicest gifts bestowed in vain?”
This is the ‘gentle’ persuasion that Montagu uses, is a pair of rhetorical questions which asks whether when the male persona has everything that heaven gave to him without him using them, meaning that he is wasting them on her, as she will not care about him. This could also be understood as flattery because she reveals that this male admirer already has “heaven’s choicest gifts” so does not need her.
There is also flattery in the next line of the poem “A plenteous fortune, and a beauteous bride,” also shows flattery in the short beginning section of non-aggressive text. The quotation shows how Montagu feels that he is rich and wealthy with a beautiful wife. In addition to the line before (“heaven’s choicest gifts”), Montagu uses this form of persuasion to try to declare that ‘you are rich and married with everything that you need. You do not need me as well.’
Flattery in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ can be seen by:
“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;”
This hyperbole carries on Marvell’s first stanza of planning what his mistress and him would do if they had eternity. He would spend a hundred years admiring her eyes and forehead (which were considered to be an object of sexuality in those times) and two hundred years on each breast and thirty thousand years for the rest of her body. What this is basically implying is that his mistress’ body and features are so good that they would take so many years to worship in an attempt to make the female persona give in to his persuasion. He also writes:
“For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.”
This suggests that Marvell feels that his mistress is worth all his love and effort and worth all the things he said before.
Although both poems include flattery, it is more evident that there are more examples of it in “To His Coy Mistress” than “An Answer to A Love Letter”. This is probably due to the fact that they have been written for totally antagonistic purposes, one to attract and one to repel.
Bullying is evident in the two poems. In Marvell’s poem, the majority of the second stanza is used to scare and threaten her:
“Times wingéd chariot hurrying near:
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity”
This is the beginning of the stanza implying that her death is arriving soon. When it does, she will be alone and suffer loneliness. Marvell’s is disclosing what will happen if his mistress will not have sex with him. There is also a revolting image that Marvell has used:
“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 turned to dust.”
Marvell uses this macabre vision to say that if she protects herself from having sex with him, she will only take her virginity to her grave, where she will no longer receive his love, and where worms will take her virginity instead. Marvell indicates that if she preserves her virginity and does not have sex with him, worms will take her virginity and she will still lose it. This is using fear and threats to persuade, like an average bully at a primary school.
“An Answer To A Love Letter” also has bullying evident:
“So the brisk wits, who stop the evening coach,
Laugh at fear which follows their approach;
…But seiz’d by Justice…”
This quotation shows Montagu’s attempt to, similar to Marvell, show ‘men’ the consequences of ignoring her reject. But she scares him with the picture if the Highwaymen (“Brisk wits”) and how the will kill the ‘men’ for their wrongdoings. However, although it is more personal in that she says you will lose her life, I do not feel that Montagu’s threat is as affecting as Marvell’s. This is because Marvell’s makes a bigger impact and a more vivid image.
Humour can be used to persuade also, though there are few instances, they are evident in the two poems. In Montagu’s, she likens men to dogs:
“Why should poor pug (the mimic of your kind)”
She is stating that men are like dogs. Although this is an insult, it can generate humour and be used as a variance of persuasion.
In Marvell’s poem, there is slightly more humour as the poem is mostly quite positive:
“My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow.”
Marvell suggests here that although his love for her is passive and inactive (like a “vegetable”), it will still grow and he will love her more and more. This could also refer to his genitals but the previous interpretation is more likely. Marvell has another example of humour in his poem:
“The grave’s a fine and private place
But none, I think, do there embrace.”
This is at the end of his second, bullying stanza. He describes how although the grave is concealed, there are not people who embrace each other there. This was probably used to lighten the mood after the scares and threats he bombarded his mistress with the previous lines.
Logical argument can be seen in Marvell’s just by looking at the three stanza divisions. The first stanza is about how much he loves her and what he would do if they had eternity. He then goes on to his second stanza where he reveals that they do not have much time left and her consequences if she does not have sex with him. Then the third stanza is where Marvell concludes and reveals that she should have sex with him while she is young and able and not regret it if she does not and carry her virginity to the grave. Marvell moves from being romantic and passionate to aggressive and threatening before ending in a suggestive tone. This is what he does in an attempt to seduce his mistress and lure her into bed.
This is also true of Montagu’s poem. In the same way, Montagu’s logical argument is shown by the structure. Montagu has different sections in her poem and although she has not split it into stanzas, the divisions are quite obvious. The first section is about the admirer, how he has everything, is married and should not try to seduce her. She then scolds men in general in the next section, insulting men and showing her disgust. In her next section, she describes how she had been hurt before, how someone has already taken her heart and broken it. She tells how she feels men lie and deceive in the following section before ending with a section on the consequences.
Although both do use logical argument, it is more evident in “To His Coy Mistress” as his is split into the different stanzas while “An Answer To A Love Letter” is not.
