Compare the theme of seduction in To his coy mistress and The

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Compare the theme of seduction in To his coy mistress and The

seduction

The poem “to his coy mistress” was written by Andrew Marvell between

1621 and 1678. However “The seduction” (which was written by Eileen

McAuley-a woman) was written much later, in the 1980’s. Both poems are

about a man trying to persuade a woman to sleep with him. In “THCM”

the man uses flattery and persuasion “For lady you deserve this

state.” In this poem however we never actually discover if he was

successful in persuading her. In “The seduction” he seduces her using

alcohol in the hope that she will sleep with him if she is drunk. In

this poem we do discover that he is successful as the girl becomes

pregnant.

In “THCM” the male is narrating for example “our” and “we.” In “The

seduction” neither of the characters narrates. It is written in third

person “He lead her to the quite bricks of Birkenhead docks.”

Throughout the entire poem no names are used “he” and “she.” I think

this symbolises that the situation is quite common. In both poems our

sympathies are with the women. We sympathise with the women in “The

seduction” because she becomes pregnant and truly regrets her actions

“So she cried that she had missed all the innocence around her.” In

“THCM” our sympathy is also with the woman as she is being pressurised

into to having sex even though she might not want to.

The men in both poems are similar in one way as they are both seducing

the woman in the hope that she will sleep with them. However they both

act very different. The man in “THCM” is more romantic as he takes the

time to admire and appreciate the woman “An hundred years should go to

praise Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze.” Whereas in “The

seduction” He doe...

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...of nicotine.” I think this definitely comes across during the

poems, and is a clear difference.

In conclusion it is clear that both are poems are about a man seducing

a woman in the hope that she will sleep with him. I believe the

biggest difference between the poems is to do with the date when they

were written. Both time eras had completely different attitudes to

sex, which is why the men go about a different way to seduce the women

The poem that I find more persuasive and effective is “THCM” because

the man actually loved the lady ”I would love you ten years before the

flood” and his intentions were slightly more pure it seems, compared

to the man in “the seduction” who simply took advantage of the woman

and didn’t care for her one bit. I also think that it is very cleverly

written and is interesting how each stanza represents a different time

frame.

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