Comparing 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell & 'Cousin Kate' by Christina Rossetti

"I would have refused his proposal and spit into his face."

Christina Rossetti is trying to portray the cottage maiden as a bitter and angry woman. I think that the cottage maiden didn't really have a good relationship with her cousin because if she did then her cousin, Kate, wouldn't have betrayed her. Also the relationship between her and the Lord couldn't have been love or he wouldn't have left her. I think their relationship was material and superficial. I think the serious message in this poem is that you should be more cautious and aware of the people around you. You should not make yourself vulnerable to anyone. If something is too good to be true you should keep well clear of it. For example she says

"Why did a great Lord find me out,

And praise my flaxen hair?"

The cottage maiden is questioning herself. She is confused but also irritated at the same time. She doesn't understand why a man of such high stand in society with great wealth would pick her, a cottage maiden that lives in poverty. From this the audience can already start to see the reason why the lord chose the cottage maiden. It was because she was pretty. The audience have now been given an idea of what the lord is like. We now know that he is a very superficial man because she says that he praised her 'flaxen hair'. This means that she is blonde.

To His Coy Mistress

The narrator of this poem is Andrew Marvell. He is speaking as 1st person. The purpose of this poem is that the narrator is trying to gat his 'Coy' mistress to sleep with him. He describes her as been coy because he is implying that she is pretending to be shy.

In this poem the sections are split into 3 syllogisms. In the 1st stanza he uses thesis which is a debate or an idea. He uses the words 'had we' at the start of the stanza. In the 2nd stanza he uses antithesis which contradicts with the 1st stanza he uses the word 'but'. In the last stanza he comes to a conclusion and uses the words 'now therefore' Andrew Marvell uses several different techniques to get his girlfriend into bed. For most parts of the poem he uses a persuasive tone.

Stanza 1

In this stanza the narrator attacks his mistress for her coyness by saying

'This coyness lady were no crime'

He is saying that she is preventing him from getting what he wants.

He then goes on to say

'My vegetable love should grow'

Andrew Marvell uses a metaphor here to give the audience a visual image to show the extent of his love for her. He is telling her that his love grows very slowly but in huge amounts. His love is so great that hers should be the same. He is trying to make her fell guilty for not loving him as much as she should. At this point in the poem he is quite anxious to get her into bed so he is willing to use any techniques to persuade her.

Stanza 2

In this stanza the narrator is basically saying that they do not have all the time in the world. Time is passing by very quickly and soon they will be old and then they will die. He tells her that nobody will think she is pretty and then she would have lost her chance. In lines 21 and 22 Andrew Marvell uses the imagery of time to put pressure on his mistress. He says

"But at my back I always hear

Times winged Chariot hurrying near"

He is saying that the end is near. He is using personification and is speaking of time as if it were a person. He is also saying that she is wasting the little time that they do have left by not sleeping with him. To scare his mistress the narrator uses horrifying images of death. He says

"then worms shall try

That long preserv'd Virginity"

He is trying to scare his girlfriend into sleeping with him. He does this by using a phallic image. The worms are supposed to represent a penis. He is telling his girlfriend that if she doesn't sleep with him then she will lose her virginity to the worms. This has a dramatic effect on the audience once they have pictured it. They are now shocked and horrified. The narrator uses a very clever technique here. Just trying to picture it is enough to get anyone to sleep with him. He has stopped trying to persuade his mistress and is now telling her what will happen. We know this because he uses the word 'shall' which means that it will happen whether she likes it or not. I think by now his girlfriend is beginning to change her mind. There are several words and phrases in this stanza that suggest death and coldness. For example he says

"The grave's a fine and private place"

This suggests a tone of fear and loneliness.

He also says

"And your quaint Honour turn to dust

And into ashes all my lust"

He is telling her that her old-fashioned ways will not matter when she is dead and decayed. Quaint honour is slang for vagina telling her that it will turn to dust.

He is also saying that once she has lost her youth he will not love her anymore.

He carries on saying

"Thy beauty shall no more be found."

She is getting old and no one will fancy her anymore and so she would have lost her chance.

"Nor, in thy marble Vault shall sound"

No-one will come to see her or to sing to her. She will be on her own. The narrator is trying to create a dark and lonely mood.

Stanza 3

In the last stanza the narrator comes to a resolution. He says

"Now let us sport us while we may"

He is trying to persuade his girlfriend by saying that they should have fun and enjoy themselves while they still can. He knows that his girlfriend really wants to sleep with him because he says

"Thy willing soul transpires"

The narrator repeats the word 'now' several times in this stanza. This gives a sense of urgency in the atmosphere. The narrator contradicts himself several times in this poem. For example in the 1st stanza he is talking all about procrastination which means wasting time, in the 2nd stanza he talks about Carpe Diem (seize the day/ moment). Then the 2nd stanza contradicts with the 3rd one. In the 2nd stanza he talks about death and decaying creating a very dark and solitude environment but in the 3rd stanza he talks about life, energy and freshness. For example he says

"And, now like am'rous birds of prey"

This phrase alone shows power and strength. They are young and full of energy.

There is a lexical set of energy, life and freshness. They are 'youthful', 'morning', 'sport', 'devour' and 'pow'r'. Also in this stanza the narrator uses a variety of images to get his point through. He say's

"Like morning dew"

He is talking about her youth. It is like the morning dew it will not last for a very long time. It will be gone really quickly.

"Like am'rous birds of prey"

Their love should be passionate. They should use up their time to the fullest. It also contrasts with his 'vegetable love'.

"Slow-chapt pow'r"

Time is eating their life away with slowly grinding jaws.

"The iron gates of life"

This gate is preventing him form getting what he wants and because it is so hard the only way that he will be able to knock it down is if his mistress joins him.

The narrator uses the word 'our' a lot. He is trying to tell his mistress that they are united as one. They're a team and together they can break down the gates and conquer time. He says

"Thus, thou we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run"

He uses personification once again. They cannot really make the sun run but what he is trying to say is that they can use their time up wisely by having as much fun as possible, in doing this time will go by really quickly.