Marvell uses many different uses of language in this poem. In the thesis there is a metaphor and a hyperbole in one sentence. “My Vegetable Love should grow, Vaster than Empires and more slow” The first part is a metaphor for the male organ, while the second part is a hyperbole for how much it grows. This use of language by the man is encouraging the women to make love to him, as he is the best. There is also another hyperbole, when the man states he will wait until the end of time if she refuses his love. “Love you ten years before the Flood: And you should if you please refuse, Till the Conversion of the Jews.” There is another pause in this sentence causing the reader to think. The man cannot love her until the end of time in reality; he can only love her for a lifetime. At the end of the thesis he is telling her that she deserves to make love with him.
In the first stanza of “TSR” the man is arguing as soon as the poem begins. The man thinks he is more important than the Sun. He argues the point of why the Sun had to disturb his lover and him in bed. This is similar to ‘To His Coy Mistress’ as the man is arguing with time for his lover, while in this poem the man is arguing against the Sun for his lover.
The man wants the Sun to go away and bother people than need to be woken up. “Late schoolboys and sour’ prentices” Schoolboys must be woken up to go to school, and apprentices must be woken as well. This is also another comparison to ‘To His Coy Mistress’ as the man is arguing with time to disappear so he can have eternity with his lover, in this poem he is telling the Sun to go away so he can spent time with his lover. At the end of the first stanza in ‘The Sun Rising’ the man is telling the sun that love is superior to him, love remains constant where as time passes on as the Sun sees different seasons, climates, hours, months and days, but love is just love. In ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man also argues that time doesn’t matter only love, which is another comparison, but in the same way a difference, because in this poem the man wants time to go on, so the Sun goes away, whereas in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man wants time to stop.
At the start of the second stanza in ‘The Sun Rising’ the man tells the Sun that his beams are holy and strong, but why does he think he can bother them in bed? He brags that he could eclipse the Sun with a wink, but he would lose sight of his lover at the same time so it is not worth it. He tells the Sun that his lover could blind his eyes, but the sun cannot, placing his lover above the Sun, in importance. In the second stanza of ‘To His Coy Mistress’ he man realizes that time cannot be stopped and wants to spend time well, but in this poem the man is bragging about how his lover is better than the Sun. So whereas in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man has realised that he cannot win against time, but in this poem the man continues to argue with the involvement of his lover. The man then goes on to tell the Sun to go away and come back later tomorrow, meanwhile he should go and see if the spices and gold are still where the Sun left them or if they are here with the man. This is a metaphor for his lover being as precious as gold and Indian spices. “Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine Be where thou left’st them, or lie here with me.” There is also a metaphor in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ which describes his lover’s body, “Nor, in thy marble Vault, shall sound,” this is also another metaphor for the male organ. Both poems are describing the man’s lover in the second stanza. At the end of the second stanza in ‘The Sun Rising’ the man tells the Sun to visit the Kings he saw yesterday, this could refer to the Three Kings of the Orient, which were very famous. “Ask for those kings whom thou saw’st yesterday, And thou shalt hear ‘All here in one bed lay.’” The second part of this sentence tells us the three kings could have slept in one bed, but the man is arguing that what is in this bed is more important. At the end of ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man is telling his lover that if they don’t make love soon they will have lost the chance forever. “The Grave’s a fine and private place, But none I think do there embrace.” So at the end of the second stanza of ‘The Sun Rising’ the man is still putting him and his lover above the Sun, bragging how much more important they both are, whereas in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man has given up his battle as he realises he can’t win against time, so he concentrates and the thing that is important. But it is also a comparison, because the two men are still concentrating on there lovers.
In the last stanza of ‘The Sun Rising’ the man continues to argue with a Superior note, saying that his lover is the princess of the world and he is the prince of all princes “She is all states, and all princes I; Nothing else is.” He is again putting both of them above the Sun, saying ‘Nothing else is.’ In ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man is also saying his lover is the best, she is ripe and they should make love as soon as possible. “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 am’rous birds of prey.” He is saying now is the best time for them to make love as she is at her best. Both men are again arguing that their lovers are the best in the world and no one else come close. In ‘The Sun Rising’ the man continues on to say that other couples pretend to be them, everybody else is pretending to love each other, whereas they actually do love each other, and no one else compares to them. “All honour’s mimic, all wealth alchemy.” He goes on to say that the Sun is single whereas they are a pair “Thou, sun, art half as happy as we, In that worlds contracted thus; Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be.” The man also tells the Sun he is old and could do with a rest, but they are youthful and don’t need disturbing. There is a comparison here with ‘To His Coy Mistress’ as the man says they are a pair, and in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man says, “Let us roll all our Strength, and all Our sweetness, up into one Ball.” The ball represents him and his lover as one. At the end of ‘The Sun Rising’ the man continues to argue that him and his lover are everything, and to warm the world is to warm them as a pair. He even rules himself and his lover above the Universe saying all that matters in the world are them. He ends on a superior note saying that their bed is the center of everything, and all things revolve around them as a pair. “This bed thy center is, these walls thy sphere.” In ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man is carrying on telling his lover, that nothing else matters all he needs is her, he wants to shut out time, like in ‘The Sun Rising’ he wants to shut out the Sun. In ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man says if he can make love they will have conquered time after all this fighting, and they will elevate above all others including time, “Thus, though we cannot make our Sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.” This is similar to ‘The Sun Rising’ when the man tells the Sun they are superior to all others.
Both poems have a romantic mood throughout. But ‘The Sun Rising’ concentrates on the man arguing with the Sun, with each stanza stronger than the last, whereas in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ the man starts to argue, but them realises he cannot win and decides to spend the time they have together well, instead of continuing an argument he is not going to win. The man in ‘The Sun Rising’ could be described as stubborn as he will not give up for his lover’s sake, but the man in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ also takes the path he feels is best for his lover, so both poems are about the men’s lovers being the most important thing. In ‘To His Coy Mistress’ Marvell uses capital letters well to express important words like: “Vaster than Empires and more slow.” But in ‘The Sun Rising’ Donne doesn’t use capital letters but they both use pauses well throughout their poems to let the reader think about what is being said.
‘To His Coy Mistress’ and ‘The Sun Rising’ are similar but are also different, as one has a continuous mood and the other one’s mood changes. ‘The Sun Rising’ is continuous, and ‘To His Coy Mistress’ changes. But they both concentrate on the lover and the man. Both have the man speaking throughout the poem with mentions of their lovers, but nobody else has a say throughout both poems.
(2,033 Words)
By Sean Stallwood
