Time and Desire: Central Themes of Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”

Time and Desire:

Central Themes of Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”

Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" is a poem in which the speaker is slyly seducing a nameless women. He walks his "coy mistress" through the kind of courtship that they could have if time wasn't of the essence. Being that there is no time to waste, the speaker proposes that he and the mistress should make the most of the time they have and engage in more intimate, physical embrace. In this poem, Marvell uses allusions, metaphors, and imagery to heighten the experience of the passing of time and carnal lust.
            Marvell uses references and allusion to show the passing of time. He references walking down these two flowing bodies of water, the Indian Ganges and the Humber, to pass the day (Marvell 5-7). The Indian Ganges is a river in India that runs approximately 1,560 miles through India and is the third largest river in the world. The Humber is a large estuary on the east coast of Northern England. To walk along side these two bodies of water would take weeks, which is time that, theoretically, would spend if he and his mistress had that kind of time. He also alludes to "the Flood" and "conversion of the Jews", which are both stories found in the Christian bible (7-10).  The flood that’s described in the book of Genesis, took place hundreds of years before the Jews were converted in the New Testament book of Romans (New International Version, Gen. 6-9, Rom. 9-11). Again, the long, drawn out courtship would be a beautiful endeavor, but time is of the essence.

There imagery used to describe the mistress' body and the birds in the air are also used to illustrate the speakers’ carnal lust for the mistress. In lines 17-18, the speaker is describing his mistress’ body and pays close attention to mention her most prominent assets. While admiring her physique, he would love to spend one hundred years gazing upon her eyes, which is quite romantic and sweet. But when he mentions her breast, he wants to spend two hundred years admiring these specific womanly features (14-15). In comparison to her bosom, the other body parts seem to be of almost no importance to him. He doesn’t even bother to name them, saying “But thirty thousand to the rest” (16).

Later on in the poem, the speaker predicts that if their slow courtship continues, they will both be laid to rest before they have the opportunity to lay with one another. He goes on to mention that in the grave, there will be no time for long endeavors and the only thing that will penetrate her are the lowly worms:

Thy beauty shall no more be found
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song: then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust (25-30)

The speaker is attempting to depict the squandered sexuality that could be brought about by essentially wasting time by trying to wait for a proper time that will never come.  The mistress is cherishing her virginity until she can give it to someone at right time in the relationship but when she dies, the only thing that will be penetrating her is the worms in the ground. He speaks of her dead body and the worms in a mocking way, but it also has a hint of jealousy; these worms might get to enjoy his mistress’ flesh before he does. Her “quaint honor” will be nothing but dust in a casket and all of the speaker’s sexual desires will have been absolutely wasted. The speaker unveils his sensual appetite and, according to this passage, the very real possibility that it may never be satisfied.

In lines 38-44, the speaker is convincing his mistress that instead of regretting the many possibilities of what could have been, they should lay with each other and let their desires devour one another. Marvell uses the phrase “amorous birds of prey” to describe the way they should make love and in this process should “tear our pleasures with rough strife” (43). Birds of prey, also known as raptors (no, not the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park), prey and eat other animals. Some examples of raptors are eagles, hawks, and owls (Bureau of Land Management) When hawks, for example, are attracting new mates they use methods such as nibbling and “courtship fights”, which involve both birds fighting in the air (SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment). Their courtship is violent and dangerous, the very opposite of the courtship that the speaker and his mistress have.

Marvell has used allusions, metaphors, similes, and vivid imagery to better capture the passing of time and the carnal lust that he has pent up inside of him. His allusions, metaphors and similes are robust and full of passion that paints a vivid picture for the reader. The use of these elements helps the readers better understand the emphases that the speaker places on how fleeting time is along with the his need to utilize every moment possible to satiate his sexual appetite.  

Works Cited

The Holy Bible: New International Version. Colorado Springs, CO: International Bible Society, 1984. Print.

"Reproduction." Seaworld.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

Smith, Philip. "To His Coy Mistress." 100 Best-loved Poems. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. 17-18. Print.

"What Makes a Bird a Raptor?" What Makes a Bird a Raptor? N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.