To His Coy Mistress

To His Coy Mistress

The poem was written in the seventeenth century, by Andrew Marvell, to his mistress. It was intended to persuade her to have sex with him. It uses a formal style, and is phrased elaborately. Three sections make up this piece, and I will analyse them one by one before turning to the overall impression. It is a very personal poem, addressed to one person only - this is the impression i get from reading it.
The first section is the thesis. He says he loves her, loves her truly, will worship her forever if needs be and if they were as immortal as their love there would be no problem:-
'Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, lady, were no crime.' This statement tells her that her shyness is at fault. Implied is the sense that they are stuck in their own small worlds, with a short life ahead of them. The suggestion of an enclosed world, although it is never made obvious, becomes important later. Her 'crime' of being coy places him as the victim, the plaintiff, and as such gives her a sense of guilt.
He says if they lived forever then they could wander the world, explore it, and explore each other - they would have so much time it wouldn't matter how reluctant she was.
'Thou, by the Indian Ganges' side, Should'st rubies find: I by the tide of humber would complain.' The mention of exotic places, especially the Ganges, a holy place to Hindus and very beautiful, suggests a paradise surrounding her. She finds rubies, a valuable and attractive gemstone - but she simply acquires them through serendipity. Perhaps he is saying that this is what she deserves, an Indian nirvana with riches thrown at her feet. In contrast to these warm foreign places, he is by the side of the Humber, grey and cold, and complaining. He is left there, or chooses to go there, while she is elsewhere - but he would be happy to do this if they could have all the time and the world.
Then he uses historical references from the Bible to refer to the phrase about having 'time enough'. This emphasizes the holy significance of the last place mentioned. Interestingly, here he says that she could refuse his advances forever. Marvell says his love for his mistress would grow and develop:
'My vegetable love should grow,