He says like a vegetable his love would have time to grow and spread. If he had time he says, he would court her slowly, but he is aware that time is catching up with them. The language in the first section is designed to persuade his coy mistress through use of praise. He also uses a hyperbole in lines 13 to 18 'Two hundred to adore each breast But thirty thousand to the rest. An age at least to every part, and the last age should show your heart' to praise her, this means he deliberately uses extreme exaggeration to heighten the effect of the statement. This develops the idea that if he had time he would worship her, spending hundreds of years worshipping different parts of her body.
The language in section two becomes more threatening by concentrating on the idea that time cannot be stopped and death awaits them, they must seize the day now. There is a sense that time cannot be avoided. The image of times winged chariot emphasises speed and movement of time.
The language seems threatening when Marvell describes how 'Thy beauty will no more be found'. She will loose her beauty, so should act while still young and desirable.
Marvell effectively contrasts the hyperbole used to describe time in the first section with the description of 'All before us lie deserts of vast eternity'. Marvell sees time as an enormous thing stretching in front and behind them. All they have is this moment in time to make the most of.
Effects of time words used like deserts, dust, and ashes, emphasise baron wasteland awaiting her if she does not give into her emotions and desires. The desert is a visualisation of an arid, hot, loveless place.
Marvell also uses mocking language when he says 'The grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace'. He is mocking her chastity and quaint honour, which has no value in his argument.
The language in the final section of the poem concentrates on persuading his coy mistress to seize the opportunity while young. His persuasive argument concentrates on the idea that this is what she wants. The language used is very powerful, like 'Devour time' in other words to make every moment matter rather than waiting for time to control them.
There are sexual images throughout; the word coyness implies sexual hesitancy. There is a double meaning in quaint honour in line 29. It means both trim and proper chastity, but there is also a reference to female sexual parts. In lines 43 and 44 there are very strong sexual over tones. Tear, rough and iron gates of life are all images of sexuality.
The argument concludes with Marvell saying that he knows they cannot make time stand still, however if they join together it will place the power in their hands and they can seize the day.
There is a marked difference between Andrew Marvell’s seduction poem and Valentine. Carol Ann Duffy is writing from a drastically different perspective. Her poem is from the point of view of a woman who is very disillusioned with the commercialisation of love.
The title Valentine is quite misleading, as it leads us to expect conventional images of loves, although the poem actually gives a cynical view of love. The first word 'not', gives contrast to the title and shows this isn’t a typical love poem. Valentine is a free verse poem meaning it does not have a regular and predictable rhythm or line length, it relies on natural speech rhythms and the contrasts between stressed and unstressed syllables for its effects.
The onion is the main metaphor in the poem, it is given as a symbol of love. The poet wants us to imagine the moon wrapped in brown paper. The round, white sphere would be under the brown paper, and we would realise that when the paper was removed we would see the moon's light.
At the start of the third paragraph, the poet says, 'Here', handing it to the other person to hold, she is being very insistent. When she says 'It will blind you with tears', she is saying that the onion will make your eyes water, which resembles the pain caused by a loved one, and the tears put everything out of perspective, If your eyes were welled up with tears and you looked at your reflection in the mirror, you would look shaky and distorted, just like a wobbly photo of yourself.
The next two lines have spaces in between them, these spaces make you think about what she has just said so you can absorb it and reflect on it. The repetition of the 'T' sound in the lines 'I am trying to be truthful' shows sincerity, and the poet is giving a word of warning. Having caused tears, the poet is determined to be truthful. 'You' must expect nothing like the Valentine cards, the red rose or satin hearts.
At the start of the seventh paragraph we are told that 'you' haven’t taken the onion yet. The second offer of the onion takes us to the final stanza, where you will find some more metaphors.
First of all there are the onion’s 'platinum loops'. The platinum shows the colour of the onion and whenever an onion’s skin is peeled off, the onion separates into rings. The poet has chosen platinum because it isn’t what most people imagine wedding rings to be made of, and therefore supports how she is rejecting all the traditional gifts passed down from our ancestors. Platinum is a very plain metal but is still very valuable, this shows that the poets love is still very strong.
The ring is offered with 'if you like'. This is very unromantic, but is showing the person who is being offered the onion is being given a choice.
The poet uses the word 'lethal' in the poem, which would mean deadly dangerous, but most people then would think how could an onion be lethal. By this she could mean one of two things. Either that the love she is prepared to offer is so strong it could almost kill you, or that if the poet and 'You' were to get married then their love would die.
The last image in the poem 'Its scent will cling to your fingers' is a lasting symbol of her love, and the word 'knife' shows that she has clearly been hurt in previous relationships.
From my reading of both poems, I have notice both deal with the issue of romantic love in very different ways. Valentine try’s to destroy the myth of commercial love. To his coy mistress however is trying to promote the physical side of love. The use of metaphors plays an important role in both poems as does use of poetic imagery. In my view Carol Ann Duffy seems to have a better understanding of love.
