“…then worms shall try
That long-preserved virginity…”
This suggests that if the Mistress prolongs time then worms will approach her before anyone else; giving a sense of feeling pressure and stress upon the Mistress. He finally changes the mood to being enthusiastic and passionate. For example he describes their love as birds of prey and that they should use up the time they have wisely. On the other hand William Shakespeare uses a more subtle approach in “Sonnet 116” instead of using bold statements like in “To His Coy Mistress”. Throughout the poem he shows his belief in love passionately by not symbolising it and by talking about it directly. At the beginning the issue of love is commented more on, reason being Shakespeare is a man of showing affection towards a woman. He feels love can bring two people together if they are committed. He makes the person who the poem is written for feel very special. Towards the end he explains how time affects love but in a positive way; - “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks”. This implies love will not change with time and will remain constant.
The structures in both poems are very different. With “To His Coy Mistress” the story of the poem is revealed chronologically. Where as in “Sonnet 116” is written as an opinion. In Marvell’s poem the verses and key words are linked to the past, present and future. The key words being “had”, “but” and “now”. For example the first line of the first verse states, “Had we but world enough, and time”. This line is in the future tense. He questions himself asking if only there was enough time in the world. He then ends the stanza with “Nor would I love at lower rate” on line twenty which is in the present. By this he means he will not love any faster in this present time at the moment. “To His Coy Mistress” also uses rhyming couplets effectively to convey his inner feelings:
“My vegetable love should grow
Vaster that empires, and more slow”.
He uses irregular sentence lengths to create a slower pace of time. Marvell tries to create more time. In contrast Shakespeare tries to use same sentence lengths. Each line must have the same beat to create a steadier pace. He also uses a rhyming scheme. Shakespeare uses the same rhyming schemes in all his other sonnets. In Sonnet 116, each quatrain has a different subject is discussed and described.
Both poems create a clear and vivid image. In “To His Coy Mistress” Marvell uses effective imagery to put forward his feelings. For example in the first stanza he talks of:
“My vegetable love should grow”.
This shows his love is expanding slowly and innocently over time for his ‘mistress’. It then starts maturing slowly, growing into a size so big it is “vaster that empires...”. This personifies his feeling we see how emotion can grow naturally into something that is immense and powerful. Marvell also expresses the admiration of time running out when he illustrates “Time...hurrying near”. It increases the feeling of anxiety because time is coming closer.
However, Shakespeare uses fewer images to convey his feelings. For example he describes “...his bending sickle’s compass come”. This creates an image that his lover’s beauty and love may fade away and the love will continue until the death of both partners. The other image Shakespeare creates, means love is not tricked by time even though his lover has youth and beauty; - “Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks”. If love was to be tricked by time, his lover may think that if her youth and beauty fades with time and therefore so will love. The point that Shakespeare tries to get across is that love will remain but your beauty will not.
“To His Coy Mistress” and “Sonnet 116” are similar in certain aspects. They were both written roughly in the same period. Andrew Marvell and William Shakespeare both have a strong belief in of love, however the poems are written by men with different attitudes to love. Marvell is shown to be very selfish and arrogant. Reason being he talks about love in a more nasty and critical way. Even though he pays his mistress with compliments, he still manages to offend her. Shakespeare on the other hand expresses what love is, rather than praising a loved one. Unlike Marvell he doesn’t use compliments. He makes you read between the lines and creates a more complex feeling.
In conclusion I personally prefer Sonnet 116, simply because Shakespeare states his feeling about love in a more polite form and with a positive attitude. I feel that in “To His Coy Mistress” Marvell gives us an initial impression that he loves a beautiful young woman. However, as the poem develops with time, we discover that her beauty will fade parallel to Marvell’s affection to her. Lust becomes more dominant over love. I think Marvell reveals a sly characteristic, in that he uses time and love to convince his Mistress that they should seize this opportunity now, but in fact he uses that to fulfil his yearning desire for his mistress. On the other hand, in “Sonnet 116” Shakespeare tries to express the truth and purity of real love. I feel that he is successful in showing this when he starts of saying if two people are committed to each other and want to be together then nothing should stop them; - “Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love”.
