A Review of Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress

Seduction in a Moment

Andrew Marvell knows that the things that we want enough and that elude us are worth waiting for, but the more time we spend watching and admiring them from a far means the less time we will have for the worldly pleasures of them, so we must take charge of our moments. Marvell's poem, "To His Coy Mistress," is meant to seduce and hurry its reader into taking action. The poem can be broken down into three stanzas, with each stanza being indicated by an indent. Marvell uses the first stanza to relax the reader's regards of him, coaxing her into being more perceptive to his suggestions through positive intermittence. The narrator prompts the reader to take action in the second stanza , reminding her of their mortality and the limited amount of actual time they have for one another. In the last stanza he gives her an alternative to being left unfulfilled in death's tomb; she could join herself with him in a physical effort and make their mortality chase them as they enjoy one another in the flesh.