In the first section of Marvell´s poem, he seems to be talking about a fantasy, about how wonderful it would all be if time was everlasting. He expresses the idea of time being endless and a world in which the “coyness lady were no crime”. In this section, he tries to show that if this situation was real, he would love her eternally and sometimes even uses religion “Till the conversion of the Jews”. He describes many exotic, wonderful place where he would still love her, over enormous distances, no matter where or when. The idea of vegetables tries to compare his love towards her with the slow-growing, root-taking life of a vegetable. What he tries to show is that if time was never-ending, so would his love, and so would her beauty. And so, if her beauty was everlasting, her coyness would be no problem, because she would have eternity to use her body as she will.
In the second section of Marvell´s poem, he focuses on harsh reality and shows it to his Mistress with no objections. He thinks that by facing his Mistress with the truth of the passing of time and its effects, he will be able to achieve his objective. He very correctly uses the sentence “Time´s winged charriot hurrying near” which tries to put across the idea of Time always with us, as if it is chasing us during our lifes, until he finally reaches us, and that´s when life ends. He also uses various words to compare death with, such as: “deserts”, which shows no life, no rivers, no wildlife, just nothing, like death; “ashes”, describes the flame of lust burning out with the passing of time; “ecchoeing” which creates the effect of emptyness, similar to the idea of death.it is also mentioned the fact that once she´s in her tomb, there will be no poem to try to solve her problems, and no man to love her for what she is, as he thinks (in a sarcastic tone) “none do there embrace”.
The final section of his poem, deals with the solution to her problem. After he has laid both situations out in front of her, he makes the point that although fantasy would be ideal reality is not such. The section is opened by the word “now” which is later repeated various times later on, to emphasise the fact that you should worry and deal with present time. In this case, making good use of present time meand making good use of hey youth and beauty, as they will never come back.he uses very passionate language to put his ideas across with as much clarity as possible, for example: “morning drew”, fresh, new, youth; “instant fires”, flames, lust, passion. There is one very significant quote, which helps us see the journey between birth and death “Thorough the Iron gates of Life”. This transmits the strength of death, and the power of time. This quote may be interpreted as birth, or on the other hand, as death. This poem has some kind of conclusion, in which Marvell says, via a couplet, the idea he has been trying to put across during the whole poem: although we can´t stop time, we can use it. Carpe diem.
Shakespeare´s Sonnet 60 also displays an assertion in his final couplet. However, Shakespeare´s couplet shows the confidence he had on the power of his verse, and the power it had and still has nowadays on people. Whereas Marvell thinks the term Carpe diem is the best way of overcoming the inevitable passing of time, Shakespeare thinks the power of his verse is the best defence against Time´s “slow-chapped power” (Marvell):
Shakespeare: “And get to times of hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.”
Time and its effects are a very common theme in Shakespeare´s sonnets, so he can be considered a great specialist in the matter. He very cleverly uses the idea of waves and life as a simile, with the intention to describe the way in which death is a natural event, and that whatever we may do, this event will get to us all. This verse is similar to Marvell´s “Time´s winged charriot”, trying to express the inevitability of time´s passing. From line 5 to line 7, Shakespeare describes the idea of movement from birth towards death, as he mentions “nativity”and “crawls to maturity” where he very interestingly uses the word “crawl”, as he transmits the action babies do before they learn how to walk, and “maturity” which is what we turn into whilst we grow through life. He uses this terms, which are in their meanings, opposite, together to form the perfect sentence. Shakespeare, aswell as Marvell, personifies time, to make it seem as if it is a real person doing us the harm, and so this helps both poets express time´s effects and passing. But Shakespeare´s answer is differs from Marvell´s. Although Marvell prefers to end his poem summarising it to the limit (you can´s stop time, but you can use it), in Shakespeare´s last couplet, he tries to compensate the fact that time is unstoppable, by using the power of his verse, to stand higher than Time´s passing. In Shakespeare´s sonnet, there are 14 lines which he uses very well. In the first 12, there is a clear rhythm, with words rhyming every other line (not always perfectly) and using the last 2, to give the sonnet the last touch and make a kind of answer, or conclusion.
To conclude this essay, I have to mention the fact that these poems were written in the 17th century, which was in fact, a very turbulent one. There were many important events in this period, for example a Civil War, the May Faire, the King taken to the guillotine, religious confrontments... These events may very well have influenced both poets into writting about Time, and that whatever happens, to us or to others, time continues, never stops. They both use all sorts of techniques, similes and structures to put their message across, which at the very end, differ.
