The more complex argument used by Donne, on the other hand, is much more intricate, with the flea being used to make his woman believe that they have already, effectively, had sex in the flea. He makes the concept of sexual intercourse to be insignificant, and uses the flea again by saying “it suck’d me first, and now sucks thee, and in this flea, our two bloods mingled be,” to show that the significance of them having sex has been further diminished. The flea is also described as “little” which indicates Donne’s feelings on the significance of the matter. The writing styles of the two poets are clearly different but they can still both be seen to use language as an attempt to persuade their evidently reluctant mistresses, who have no doubt refused their other efforts.
The two poems can also be compared in terms of structure as both are one sided dialogues and can be seen as syllogisms, with Marvell’s “To his Coy Mistress” fitting this pattern more accurately. A syllogism is classified as having two arguments laid out separately followed by a conclusion. Marvell’s poem contains the first basic idea of “If we had all the time in the world…,” which is included in the first stanza, using a hypothetical situation. Here he also tries to describe the extent of his love for her and talks about what their life would be together, saying things like “we would sit down…..and pass our long love days.” This is followed by the argument that “we don’t have all the time in the world,” which he illustrates by stating “time’s winged chariot hurrying near.” This leads to his conclusion, in the third and final stanza surrounding the idea of “Carpe Diem,” which he portrays by saying “thus though we cannot make our Sun stand still, yet we will make him run.” By saying this, Marvell is iterating the point that we cannot make time stop, but we can make the most of it, and is therefore persuading his mistress that she needs to go to bed with him before they no longer can.
Donne’s poem is often referred to as a syllogism, but is more problematic in these terms as it doesn’t follow the orthodox pattern that Marvell’s poem clearly complies with. This is because the first two stanzas are basically the same argument, with a conclusion included in them, with the third stanza providing both another argument as well as a conclusion. His first argument, as I’ve already mentioned, revolves around the 17th century principle that sexual intercourse involves the mingling of blood. He is attempting to win her over by saying that, as their bloods are already mingled inside the flea and therefore the act has already taken place and, as she isn’t ashamed of this fact, there is no reason why she should continue to refuse his advances. Here he is saying that he cannot comprehend the reason for her not to go to bed with him, as they have, theoretically, already engaged in the act of sexual intercourse.
The second part of this argument, in the second stanza, is that they have already consummated their marriage. He then goes on to include powerful religious imagery to try and persuade her to his side of the argument by saying “and sacrilege, three sins in killing one.” Not alone does “sacrilege” have strong connotations, but by talking about “three” lives throughout this stanza, Donne brings the idea of trinity into the reader’s, and his mistress’, mind. The conclusion of these two stanzas, which is that there is no shame in them having sex, is revised in the third stanza, where his mistress kills the flea and says that neither have them have lost anything through the death of the flea, which is in reply to the way in which Donne built up what happened inside the flea. To this Donne answers that, if she feels that the death of the flea and the ruining of the way in which they’re bloods were mingled weren’t a big deal, then she should also feel the same way about them having sex, as she should have no fears. Donne goes on to say that “just as much honour, when thou yield’st to me, will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee,” which is stating that, because of the amount of ease with which she killed the flea, she obviously isn’t too concerned with the meaning behind bloods being mingled, and should therefore have nothing to be afraid of, in terms of having sex.
Although a clear difference between the two poems can be seen here, with Marvell basing his conclusion on “Carpe Diem”, a similarity between the two poems is that they are obviously centred on lust and seduction, as opposed to love. Donne is, however, more straightforward and portraying what he wants, although both poets use both sexual and religious imagery to aid them in their pursuits. This is a basic similarity, however, as the two use these aspects in very different ways. Donne is much more graphic in the way in which he uses sexual connotations, with words such as “suck’d” and “swelled” making his poem ‘to the point’, as it is clear what his intentions are, and it is very clear to see that his approach is far from subtle. On the other hand, in “To his Coy Mistress”, Marvell uses romantic images of India, instead of some of the cruder language used by Donne, to portray himself as the romantic type, again in order to seduce his woman. The two poems are definitely more concerned with lust than love, with Marvell mentioning the idea of “Vegetable Love,” which is a basic, lustful type of love. Even with this being considered, it is evident that Marvell uses a much more covert technique than Donne, and avoids touching on the graphic and blunt style of writing in “The Flea”.
In terms of religious imagery, both poems contain religious connotations, but the two use these for different purposes. Donne uses religious imagery to both show her how they have completed the act of sexual intercourse inside the flea, and also to shock her into refraining from killing the flea, by using descriptions such as “blood of innocence”, which appears at the point where most of Donne’s powerful religious imagery culminates. In comparison to Donne, Marvell uses religious imagery to clarify that his love is genuine and by saying that “I will love you…till the conversion of the Jews,” which was an event which was believed to take place at just before the end of the world, which is used by Marvell to express the extent of his love.
The tones of the poems share similarities as they both begin with a certain tone, and slightly change throughout and especially towards the end. A more effervescent and light-hearted tone is employed by both poets towards the starts of their poems, but these soon change to give more of an insight into the poets’ real intentions. Donne uses this to coax his mistress into accepting a concept, namely that their blood has already been mixed, while Marvell mocks himself and illustriously describes a hypothetical and romantic situation. The way in which he mocks himself is to put himself in the very unromantic place of Hull, while talking of her being in India, which is renowned for its romantic feel. He then goes on to praise her beauty by saying “a hundred years should go to praise thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze.” He also uses other hyperbolic statements in the end of this 1st stanza to further express his feelings about her, in an attempt to iterate that his love for her is true and deep.
Both poems then, however, become more serious and leave this light-hearted tone, with Donne bringing in the idea of marriage, in contrast to Marvell, who includes time and death to add an urgent feel to his poem. By saying “now let us sport us while we may,” Marvell is summing up his opinion quite clearly and this is a clear example of how he brings a sense of urgency to his argument. Donne ends on a more serious note than Marvell, however, by using some strong biblical imagery to show his mistress that, by killing the flea she has committed a sin and, if she realises this, she has shown that she feels intercourse is no big deal.
Overall, I feel that, rather than being “love” poems, these are both superficial examples of love, which are actually implicated on lust and seduction. A factor which supports this theory is that Donne doesn’t even mention love throughout the entire course of his poem, while Marvell uses love to show the extent of his feelings for his mistress and, even then, admits that it is merely vegetable love, which is a basic concept of love being no more than reproduction, and therefore sex. I feel that Marvell’s poem can also, however, be associated with making the most of life, as he clearly argues this point in “To his Coy Mistress.”
