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The current market value for one troy ounce of gold is $794.80 so the question is, how much gold does one mine hold? Using financial wealth to show the boundless passion of love is a technique that both Bradstreet and Marvell employ. Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan woman who lived in the 17th century and was the first American woman to be published. Andrew Marvell lived in the same century as Bradstreet, but on the British Isles and is known as a metaphysical poet. While both poets use vivid imagery to show their ardor, the types of love that they portray are diametrically opposed.
Bradstreet and Marvell each intersperse vibrant imagery throughout “To His Coy Mistress” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” Each poet compares their love to a precious substance: one being gold, the other being rubies. Rubies and gold are valued because of their rarity, beauty, and the value that we as humans give them. These images are used to represent how rare and beautiful their love is for one another. Likewise the image of a river in both poems symbolizes the power and other aspects of a passionate realationship. Rivers, like love, are a source of life, can overflow at times, sweep away everything in its path, and goes through times of quiet and times of disturbance. So beware! Love can sweep you away, but also bring value into your life.
While similar imagery is used to show fervor in both poems, the authors are using it to represent to different types of love. First, their titles say it all; one is to a “Dear and Loving Husband” the other is to a “Coy Mistress.” The first implies a stable and devoted lifelong partnership built on trust, commitment, and basis of shared common values. The second insinuates a more shallow and physical relationship between two amorous people. In his poem, Marvell describes his animal desires through the medium of fire and shows the nature of his lust. On the other hand Bradstreet’s puritan background comes out when...