To His Coy Mistress Analysis

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"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell Critical Analysis Andrew Marvell is famous for his poem, “To His Coy Mistress”. Marvell is viewed by many as being a chauvinist. This is a typical carpe diem poem where the writer encourages his love to seize the day. He is basically trying to coerce his love into physical intimacy. In modern times, Marvell seems like a chauvinistic jerk, particularly in his selfish nature. However, I agree with a lot of what he stands for in the poem such as not taking the present time for granted. More than I feel time should not be taken for granted, I feel that this poem is representative of the selfish love we see too often. Love that is based on physical, instant attraction rarely lasts. There are many flaws in Andrew Marvell’s poem because he does not show much respect for the point of view his love may have. He is trying to convince her that having sex now will be better than waiting until they are married. Marriage is not specifically spelled out in the poem, but speaking in current social terms, marriage is not his goal. He seeks instant gratification with his shy girlfriend. She is portrayed as no being ready to give him what he wants. His urgency is criticized because he is not thinking of consequences. What if he gets her pregnant? This unanswered question, along with the issue of not accepting the mistresses position of not being ready, make the impatient gentleman seem crude and ungentlemanly. Most men have a great desire for sex, but it is my opinion that the desire and lust for sex grows with the knowledge of what it is really like. It is a choice of opinion whether one wants to believe the speaker of this poem is speaking sweetly to get what he wants, or if he truly feels this passionately about his mistress. It is my opinion that he is not even speaking of passion at all. He is moved by lust, an intense sexual
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