“To His Coy

Mistress”By Barney and Nat

“To his Coy Mistress” http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_liter

ature/poetryrelationships/tohiscoymistressact.shtml

Content “To His Coy Mistress” is about the speaker trying to convince his

mistress that they should sleep together. This also tells us that

they aren’t married. The poem is in the first person and the

poem itself is like a poem made for someone.

Andrew Marvell grew up in the 1600’s and his poetic style

involved humour to mock topics or others. Also his poems were

centred around wealthy people.

Language In the first stanza there are humorously exaggerated

references to traditional romantic Ideas. "An hundred

years" to "praise/Thine eyes" and "Two hundred to adore

each breast".

The image of death is presented in the second stanza.

‘fires-devour-power-rough’ these words are violent. This

suggests that the narrator is getting frustrated with her.

Though out the poem Andrew Marvell uses rhyming

couplets.

Imagery The poem contains the simile “like amorous birds of prey". This line

suggests that there relationship is aggressive. “Birds of prey” suggests that The speaker is hunting and birds of prey hunt the weak, which shows that the mistress is weaker than the speaker. Furthermore, “amorous” suggests that his love for her is passionate and this links to the fact that the speaker wants to sleep with the mistress.

Exaggeration is shown in the poem “An a hundred years should go to praise….” This is a Hyperbole, which is exaggeration. The speaker is exaggerating his love for her. No one can live this long. This suggests that his love for her will never die

There is a metaphor “My vegetable love will grow” This metaphor can be considered a metaphor for sexual arousal, which links to the fact that the speaker wants to sleep with the mistress.

Structure The poem has three sections.

In the first stanza the ideal courtship is presented with references to the care and devotion with

which the speaker would "woo" his lover.

The second stanza makes it clear that they have

not got time, and that death is not only inevitable

but imminent.

The final stanza proposes that they fight against

the time and seek pleasure while they are still

alive.

Message-link http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_liter

ature/poetryrelationships/tohiscoymistressrev4.shtml