Look again at the three seventeenth century poems, "To His Coy Mistress", "The Flea", and "Shall I compare thee". In what ways have the three poets used, or departed from, the conventions of their time and why do you think they have been successful in ...

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Look again at the three seventeenth century poems, “To His Coy Mistress”, “The Flea”, and “Shall I compare thee”. In what ways have the three poets used, or departed from, the conventions of their time and why do you think they have been successful in entertaining their readers?  

“To His Coy Mistress”, “The Flea” and “Shall I Compare Thee” are all poems written in the 17th century. Marvell, Donne and Shakespeare who were the authors of the poems, departed from conventions of that time. Marvel and Donne wrote metaphysical poetry and invented a new genre, whereas Shakespeare wrote a sonnet which appeared to be written in the style of that time but with twists. They have achieved these poems by taking a unique approach to writing them and by keeping the readers entertained through amusement, dismay and excitement.

        “To His Coy Mistress and “The Flea” are very similar in context and purpose. They are metaphysical poems which reflect wit, obscure comparisons of objects and the reality of love and sex. The purpose of both poems was to get the speaker’s mistress to sleep with him, using strong imagery in an act of persuasion. The poems were written to entertain and would have been passed round the writer’s friends in order to amuse them. “Shall I compare thee” however, stood out because the writer chose a convention already in use. The purpose of this sonnet was to flatter his loved one and in an unexpected twist at the end, also himself.

        “Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, Lady, were no crime” is the first line in “To His Coy Mistress”. The introduction to the first stanza sets the mood by creating tension as we wait for the rest. It was customary in the 17th century to write poems about love in comparison to nature and he uses the world to describe his space of love. In just two lines we can already the feel of the poem and build up a picture of his passion. The poet is attempting in the first stanza, through flattery, to win over his Lady and persuade her to consummate their love. This stanza is typically metaphysical, demonstrating a controversial use of imagery, for example, “Thou by the Indian Ganges side, shouldst rubies find; I by the tide” and a double entendre, for example when he talks about his “vegetable love”. It is written in the style of other poems of that time. However, half way through the stanza his passionate words turn gently satirical and we feel a change in the poet’s tone. For example he says “Love you ten years before the Flood and you should, if you please, refuse till the conversion of the Jews”. Here his flattery turns slightly frightening and we start to wonder if the poet’s true intentions are purely innocent or very selfish.

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         “But at my back I always hear, time’s winged chariot hurrying near” is a famous phrase and is used in the second stanza to mark a change in the atmosphere. The speed up of pace, as the verse goes on, reveals desperation and anxiety that he might not get his own way after all. In contrast to the first stanza, where he used flattery as his weapon, the tone has changed dramatically. The harsh reality that their time is running out is clearly causing him great agitation and this comes across as threatening. Whether his motive is to frighten the ...

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