Shakespeare poem has the traditional backbone of a sonnet of 14 lines and 10 syllables per lines. The sonnet follows an “ABAB” rhyming scheme with rhyming couplets at the end. Shakespeare has done this to draw attention to his sonnet; sonnets in the Elizabethan era were very popular with people so it had a much bigger fan base. The sonnet also follows Iambic Pentameter of stressed followed by unstressed. Shakespeare’s poetic devices are cleverly used like negative description “Coral is far more red than her lips red” this negative because traditional poems would hail the beauty of a women. Juxtaposition is also used to give a sense of reality instead of “golden threads” Shakespeare uses “Black wires” this effect is used to give the real image as well as shock the reader.
The imagery of the poem has ionic symbols of love as well as a semantic field of nature for instance “Sun, Roses, Coral and Perfume” these words have been introduced to accentuate the realistic beauty of the dark mysterious women.
I will now be looking at “To his coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, Marvell is a metaphysical poet who writes physical and spiritual attributes which are with logic. The poem was written in 17th Centuary therefore the language and vocabulary will be different.
This poem is about a writer being rejected by the women he loves. The theme of the poem is love and how physical pleasure should be enjoyed due to times passing too quickly. This introduces the theme of transience for example “Time winged chariot hurrying near” this is used (I need HELP!!!!)
The structure of the poem has 46 lines and 3 versus; this might be done to show the emotions in graver detail. The poem is written in rhyming couplets to give the poem a more fluid feel. For poetic device, Marvell uses hyperbole “but thirty thousand to the rest”. Marvell uses this to show how much in love is in. Marvell builds his arguments by saying “If, So and But” by using this method puts doubt in the lover’s mind. The tone of the poem is very tongue in cheek; this is used to tease the mistress.
The imagery of the poem is very striking, Marvell shocks the reader by saying “worms shall try that, that long persevered virginity”, and the writer said this to convince the mistress to change her mind. Harsh imagery is also implied especially in the third verse, “Than languish in his chapt-slow power”.
In this section I will be closely comparing the subject, themes and style of “Sonnet CXXX” by William Shakespeare and “to his coy mistress” by Andrew Marvell.
The subject of the two poems is mainly about the experience of love. The common elements of the poem are mainly the humour and reality of love.
The style of the two poems is that they both have rhyming couplets but don’t follow the same structure of lines and verses. Due to the both of the poems being written at the same era they have the same kind of language and vocabulary akin to “Thy, Sunne and Musicke”. The tones of the poems are completely different; Marvell poem is very tongue in cheek unlike Shakespeare’s negative sonnet. When the imagery of the two poems are compared with love they are similar for example “Nor would I at lower rate”, “I think my love as rare”. In comparison when compared with death and decaying “The grave’s a fine and private place”.
My personal opinion of “Sonnet CXXX” by William Shakespeare is that it is very unique it shows how a real person will feel if they were in love. It also shows real characteristics of people and comparing humans as god-like creatures.
My opinion of “To his coy mistress” by Andrew Marvell is a very humorous in certain lines and verses especially “Till conversion of the Jews”, the humour in the poem makes the reader to find out what is going to happen next. Marvell brings an element of surprise especially to the female readers “Then worms shall try that long persevered virginity” this is a surprise because it’s unexpected. The main reasons why “To his coy mistress” is better than “Sonnet CXXX” is that Marvell uses a vast assortment of poetic devices to express the writers thoughts, feelings and emotions.
The imagery which I particularly enjoyed was the personification of time in Marvell’s poem like “Time’s winged chariot” it gives the poem a certain degree of urgency. Also the harsh imagery gave the poem a clearer, vivid picture. In “Sonnet CXXX” by William Shakespeare, the use of ionic symbols of love was strong and unique “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red”.
The poem which I personally prefer is “To his coy mistress” by Andrew Marvell. I chose this poem because poem because it tells the unexpected and as I said above it shocks the reader, as well as shocking the reader it brings humour, in my opinion that’s what “Sonnet CXXX” failed to do. But on the other hand “Sonnet CXXX” is a very unique and untraditional sonnet with it is own style which is hard to duplicate. With regards “To his coy mistress” you can understand the passion and commitment of the writer in the first and second verses like “Two hundred to adore each breast”. We understand how he feels because Marvell writes as if he is desperate for his lovers’ affection.
