"To His Coy Mistress by andrew marvell .
The central theme of this seventeenth century poem is carpe diem, or "seize the day. It is about a man who is proclaiming his love to his mistress, a shy lady who he tells to make the most of the time that they spend together. .
The poem can be divided into three parts. The first part is the speaker telling his mistress that if time were forever, then being shy would not be a crime. He would have loved her before and after time, and his love would only grow, never fade. He would admire her eyes for one hundred years; admire her breasts for two hundred years, and thirty thousand to admire the rest of her body; lastly, he would see her heart. In other words, in lines 1-20 the speaker pronounces his love for her, both physically and emotionally.
In part two of the poem, the speaker tells his mistress that the time they have on earth is finite. Death will take over everything, "And into ashes all my lust,"" (30) along with her beauty and his love for her. He says that a grave is a nice quiet place, but lovers do not embrace there. .
The last part of "To His Coy Mistress,"" lines 33-46, is a resolution, a plan for the lovers. Now that the speaker has told his lady how much he loves her and how they should make the most of their time, he tells her to really live, " let us sport us while we may,"" (37) and although they cannot stop time, they can at least make time go faster while making the best out of it. .
An element that makes this poem work- better is the allegory of time. It is what the poem is centered on, and it portrays complex ideas, such as love, more artistically. .
Ferreira 2.
An example of this is when he tells her how many years he will remain admiring her heart and body. The author's diction is also an important element because this is a poem about love, and for this poem to sound like a love poem, there has to be "love language,"" such as "Our sweetness up into one ball,"" (41) or "My vegetable love should grow.