Hearts and Partners: To His Coy Mistress - Andrew Marvell wrote this poem in the 17th century, a period when the English Civil War took place.

Authors Avatar

Andrew Evans 11O set 1

Mr. Sewell

Hearts and Partners: To His Coy Mistress

Andrew Marvell wrote this poem in the 17th century, a period when the English Civil War took place.  He was a very skilled politician and therefore was good at expressing his ideas and outlooks on issues.  In “To His Coy Mistress”, Marvell expresses his attitude towards love and on women “preserving their virginity”.

        Marvell writes in a very metaphysical style i.e. he writes with the whole of his soul and mind.  This poem is about trying to persuade women who act coyly (they temporise/play games, to delay having sex), that it is a waste of time and they should have sex now, while they are still young and beautiful, instead of pointlessly preserving their virginity until death – “”Now let us sport us while we may;”.

        When the poem begins, Marvell is very mocking of love and time.  He is very humorous and uses sexual references – “My vegetable love should grow”.  The message he conveys to the reader in this first section of the poem is that he would love and accept his mistress’ coyness… if they had thousands of years (he is writing in conditional clause). Marvell is mocking his mistress’ coyness, suggesting that he would need hundreds of years play along with it and to love her to his full – “Two hundred <years> to adore each breast”.  He is being strongly sarcastic and delivers the message that it would be impossible to play along with his mistress with the time available to us.

Join now!

        Marvell quickly changes the poem’s mood from one of humour to one that is a lot more serious.  The tone becomes one that is anxious, and intense.  He does this by the effective, sharp use of the conjunction ‘but’ – “But at my back I always hear”.  He then brings up the issue of death and he forms some morbid images in the reader’s mind – “then worms shall try, that long-preserved virginity”.  Also, he Marvell says that her virginity will “turn to dust”.  In other words, he is saying what a waste of time it is, holding her “quaint ...

This is a preview of the whole essay