To His Coy Mistress Analysis free essay sample

â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† represents a speaker that is trying to successfully convince a woman to be his â€Å"significant other. † To add meaning and power within the poem, Marvell uses key rhetorical strategies such as imagery, metaphors, and paradoxes, which are used throughout the poem in order to create the ideal â€Å"atmosphere† for the mistress whom the speaker is referring to and readers. Within the work, the speaker provides a sound argument for why his â€Å"coy mistress† must accept his love. Furthermore, as the speaker provides concrete details and explanations for why the mistress should agree to his proposal, the mistress has critical counter points to rebut the speaker’s accusations regarding his argument. In â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† Marvell uses specific rhetorical strategies that strengthen the speaker’s argument towards the mistress, but counter-points can be made in opposition to the speaker’s reasoning. The first rhetorical strategy the speaker employs is imagery. We will write a custom essay sample on To His Coy Mistress Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Throughout the entire poem, imagery is present, providing readers with powerful scenes. Line twenty-two the speaker states, â€Å"Time’s winged chariot hurrying near,† offering readers a vivid picture of an ancient and godlike chariot flying down towards the mistress and speaker (22). By referring the â€Å"winged chariot hurrying near,† the speaker specifies since death is approaching with growing speed, he is implying to the â€Å"coy mistress† that his love must be accepted before their untimely death. Also, the speaker depicts images of a timeless endless barren desert; â€Å"And yonder all before us lie, Deserts of vast eternity,† obliterating the image of the beautiful river the speaker stated in the first stanza with an image of never-ending desert (23-24). The speaker’s use of the powerful imagery is excellent, because the image of an endless barren desert is present to almost everyone, as well as the psychological effect an endless desert can impose on people. The second of the rhetorical strategies used by the speaker are metaphors. The speaker’s uses of metaphors are vital in the poem because they require readers to give deeper thought on the specific situation. First, a metaphor is used when describing the speaker’s slow growing love, â€Å"My vegetable love should grow,† inter-relating the process of the growth of vegetables and the speaker’s love systematically blossoming in a slow paced speed, signifying that his â€Å"love† will not be wasted, by â€Å"pleasing† the mistress with all his time and effort (11). Also, the speaker states, â€Å"And while thy willing soul transpires, at every pore with instant fire,† indirectly informing readers of how the speaker’s soul is flowing through the mistress’s body. Although, the speaker is not literally stating that every pore is on fire, the fire is used to imply sexual desires, which the speaker wishes for the mistress to have as well (35-36). In addition, the speaker employs paradoxes within his message to the mistress. One paradox is located at the end of the last stanza; â€Å"Thus, though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run† (44-45). As the speaker beforehand feels awful that they do not have enough time to be together, the speaker is insisting that they should make the sun â€Å"run,† signifying that time will move faster. This paradox is perplexing, because why make the sun run when the speaker is trying to have as much time as possible for their love to prevail? The speaker states that although they do not have the ability to control time, they do have the ability to control the variables of their death (i. e. suicide). The last couplet’s paradox will never have a definite meaning and will provide deep seeded thoughts for many years. The speaker has a strong argument in regards to his reasons for why the said speaker and mistress should be â€Å"joined. † The speaker’s argument is broken up into three well balanced sections, which include an argument, a viable prediction for the future, and a conclusion. In the first section the speaker is describing what the two would do, if they were together; whether it be a walk on the â€Å"Indian Ganges’ side† by the river, or spending an absurd amount of time performing coitus. In the second section, the speaker focuses on how little time they have and what horrible events will come, if she does not except his love. The speaker states that time/old age will quickly approach them by referring to â€Å"Time’s winged chariot. † In addition, the speaker states that if they are not together, her beauty will diminish and will be locked away in a â€Å"marble vault† with â€Å"worms† eating her virgin corpse. By exploring the results of her denial, the speaker does an effective job employing human insecurities and fear. In the last section the speaker deviates from the terrible events and ends with a calm/smooth depiction of the two performing sexual intercourse. The speaker’s argument is powerful and poignant, because he explores and exploits human insecurities by providing logical reasoning to what would happen to the mistress if she would deny his love. Although, the speaker’s argument is sound, the individual being addressed does have a solid counter-argument. The addressed will begin her counter argument by stating that the speaker is too much of an intrusive and vulgar man. Then the â€Å"mistress† will continue to portray her feelings about how her lonesome old age and â€Å"barren† reproductive system will not occur due to her lack love towards the speaker. In addition, the mistress will address to the speaker that striking fear and exploiting human insecurities are no way to woo a lady. Furthermore, the individual addressed will state that she is a â€Å"lady† and is outraged by the perverse actions, implications, and suggestions he is referring to, within the last stanza of the poem, where the speaker states, â€Å"Now let us sport while we may; And now, like am’rous birds of prey (38-39). The mistress would be offended by being compared to an animal, and state that she will never commit such â€Å"heinous acts. † In, â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† Marvell does an excellent job providing a sound argument for the speaker of his poem. Marvell’s use of imagery, metaphors, and paradoxes provide readers with an in-depth/vivid understanding to the poem. By allowing readers to deeply explore the contents of the speaker’s desires towards the mistress, including an argument, viable prediction for the future, and a conclusion. The speaker employs an intense argument pertaining to why the mistress should accept his love. In addition, through exploiting human insecurities of age, fertility, and fear of death, the speaker provides for a sound argument. In contrast, the individual being addressed (i. e. the unknown mistress) can present a counter-argument against the intensions of the speaker by disputing the vulgar, grotesque, and cruel thoughts of the speaker. Overall, Marvell’s uses of rhetorical strategies strengthen the speaker’s speech, which delivers a clean, smooth, and effective argument. Works Cited Perrine, Laurence, Thomas R. Arg, and Greg Johnson. â€Å"His Coy Mistress,† by Marvell, Anderson. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sounds, and Sense. Tenth ed. Boston: Heinle amp; Heinle/Thomson Learning, 2002. Print.