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The analysis of "to his coy mistress
The analysis of "to his coy mistress
The analysis of "to his coy mistress
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There are many different ways to show someone that you love them. Whether it be in the simplest of words or actions or with the more emotional aspect of your true self, it all falls under the key to happiness, love. The poems , “To His Coy Mistress,” by Andrew Marvell, and , “ A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” by John Donne, both express love as being the strength that over sees all your lover’s flaws and that in which we find ourselves in the process. Even though they have similarities between each other they also have their differences in style. One has a positive outlook that is more to the point and the other really gets you scratching your head, pondering on the text, time and time again. e
Both poems allude to love being able to make your lovers flaws seemly not there, for you see past the physical and see who she is as a person inside. Donne’s poem states, “But we by a love, so much refined, That our selves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Ca¬¬¬¬re less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.” And also in Marvell’s, “Let us roll all our strength, and all ...
Both poems represent the despairs and failures of the love they hone for their beloved, with brings a touch of sadness to the poems. From this the reader can feel almost sympathetic to the unrequited lovers, and gain an understanding of the perils and repercussions of love.
There is a similar theme running through both of the poems, in which both mistresses are refusing to partake in sexual intercourse with both of the poets. The way in which both poets present their argument is quite different as Marvell is writing from a perspective from which he is depicting his mistress as being 'coy', and essentially, mean, in refusing him sex, and Donne is comparing the blood lost by a flea bite to the blood that would be united during sex. Marvell immediately makes clear his thoughts in the poem when he says, "Had we but world enough, and time/ This coyness, Lady were no crime", he is conveying the 'carpe diem' idea that there is not enough time for her to be 'coy' and refuse him sexual intercourse and he justifies this thought when he suggests when she is dead, in ?thy marble vault?, and ?worms shall try that long preserved virginity?. He is using the idea of worms crawling all over and in her corpse as a way of saying that the worms are going to take her virginity if she waits until death. Donne justifies his bid for her virginity in a much longer and more methodical way, he uses the idea of the flea taking her blood and mixing it with his, ?It suck?d me first, and now sucks thee?, and then...
The speaker in Donne's poetry is a theatrical character, constantly in different situations, and using different roles to suit the action. He can take on the role of the womanizer, as in "The Indifferent," or the faithful lover from "Lover's Infiniteness," but the speaker in each of these poems is always John Donne himself. Each poem contains a strong sense of Donne's own self-interest. According to Professor J. Crofts, Donne:
The Symposium by Plato has been considered as his least philosophical dialogue. The Symposium is comprised of a series of speeches. In order to draw a conclusion on Socrates view on love, we shall examine previous speeches and compare them to his speech. This will inevitably draw out similarities that will make a pattern emerge on Socrates viewpoint on love. Method and content remain the two key similarities. Considering the method, Socrates speech follows those of who preceded him by his use of mythology. This is seen in his story of the birth of Love from Want and Wit (203bff.) Phaedrus, Pausanias and Agathon also follow with their conception stories of Love. Now let us consider content similarities between these speeches. There are two concept similarities types.
One of Donne's famous poetic devices is diction. Again in line one and ten appear "Mark" and "Oh stay." These words are denotations of strong causative voice in order to obtain mistress' attention. In addition to diction, another outstanding part is his rhetoric skill. For example, "Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee," (line 3). His using different ...
The metaphysical era in poetry started in the 17th century when a number of poets extended the content of their poems to a more elaborate one which investigated the principles of nature and thought. John Donne was part of this literary movement and he explored the themes of love, death, and religion to such an extent, that he instilled his own beliefs and theories into his poems. His earlier works, such as The Flea and The Sunne Rising, exhibit his sexist views of women as he wrote more about the physical pleasures of being in a relationship with women. However, John Donne displays maturity and adulthood in his later works, The Canonization and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, in which his attitude transcends to a more grown up one. The content of his earlier works focused on pursuing women for his sexual desires, which contrasts heavily with his latter work. John Donne’s desire for physical pleasure subsides and he seeks to gain an emotional bond with women, as expressed in his later poetry.
The first stanza shows a wide range of fantastical language with the intention of drawing the reader slowly and steadily into the hazy, dreamlike setting. Along with the words like ?fantasy?, ?fables? and ?dreams? come affectionate phrases that effectively show us that the poem is meant to be addressed to a lover, ?Dear love? being the most obvious example. Later on in the poem, the language shifts from drowsy and steady to more intense and complicated, yet less passionate and more doubtful. Donne?s choice in the last stanza to utilize fiery words like ?torches? and phrases ?light and put out? and ?thou cam?st to kindle? depict a sense of overwhelming passion, as uncontrollable as fire. Donne doubts that he can control his lover to continue loving him as fervently as in his dream, which is why his dream lover is ?an angel? while his lover in reality is compared to fire.
...ne exclusively on himself and his lover. By doing so he says the sun will be shining on the entire world. It is apparent in both poems the tone and language is dramatic, as this is typical of Donne’s writing style. His use of imagery and symbolism effectively present his experience of love. However it is the structure that builds up the emotion throughout the poems as Donne starts in each poem to refer to a seductive love, then in conclusion realises the importance of true love. ‘The Good Morrow’ clearly shows evidence of this when at the beginning Donne states he ‘suck’d on country pleasures childishly’ and in the end understands that a ‘Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die’.
The poem opens with two lines that lay the groundwork for the analogy and that have a sexual implication. The word “digged'; and the image of “love’s mine';, obviously allow for the comparison between the Platonist’s and the alchemists. Donne explains that some have experienced more love than he has, and, in having done so, have penetrated “deeper'; into “love’s hidden mystery,'; that is, they have reached a point beyond sensual love where they have found it’s true “centric'; or essential happiness. This would be analogous to alchemists, who, after many attempts, have been able to extract gold from other metals. Due to the diction that Donne uses and the manner in which he expresses himself in these two lines, it is possible to extract their sexual meaning that serves to ridicule the claims and means of the Platonists as well as the alchemists. The words “digged love’s mine'; can be interpreted as...
Donne develops this idea through the symbolism of the flea and the twisted imagery of the Trinity. He uses slant rhyme to depict the man’s slanted argument and stretched logic, which highlights the man’s crooked idea of what physical love is. Donne’s use of slant rhyme and hyperbole mock other poems that praise women with flowery language in an attempt to charm them into bed. In contrast, the speaker here uses crude arguments meant to woo this woman to sex with him. Renaissance carpe diem poems speak about enjoying physical love within one’s short-lived youth.
He compares his relationship with his love as “stiff twin compasses” and other similar comparisons to describe their unity (Dunne 26). Like a compass, they always seem to be working cohesively as one unit. It could have the same theme as “The Passionate Shephard to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe, the theme of love conquering all. They both seem to have an idealistic view to the relationship as well, as the shephard in Marlowe’s poem insists that his love “will all the pleasures prove” if she were to go with him (Marlowe 2). Both poems aim for a perfect life with their love, and Donne’s poem manages to come up with a more realistic option out of the
In the poem, Donne structures each stanza individually as a different personification of love. In the first stanza, Donne compares love to a plague when he says, “Yet not that love so soon decays…that I have had the plague…” (3/6) It is the latter line that Donne implements his use of imagery and conceit. Love is not often compared with “the plague” and this is a very strong interpretation. However while these two images seem different, they do interconnect through the pain and anguish that love can foster. This first comparison of Donne’s is very ef...
Love and hate endure to be two extremely different emotions, yet there is an exceptionally thin line between love and hate. Nevertheless people can feel both of these emotions, and also show them in more ways than one. People ponder that these feelings remain exceedingly indistinguishable and others may feel they are exceptionally dissimilar. These two emotions can be seen and shown in a way that is effortless to recognize or uncommonly difficult to discern. Love and hate feelings and emotions can be long lasting or temporary. To compare love to hate would be nonsense in view of the fact that they are two totally different emotions. Love and hate prevail, they both prove more powerful than opposing forces. Two abundantly and similar yet extremely
John Donne lived in an era when the lyric was at its pinnacle. Poets were writing well-rounded, almost musical poetry on subjects that ranged from all kinds of love to enchantment with nature. Donne could not help but revolt against this excess of fluency and melody. John Donne's style stands in such sharp contrast to the accepted Elizabethan lyrical style that it becomes difficult to accept the fact that his works date from the same era. To highlight this statement, one has to compare a typical Elizabethan lyric to one of Donne's works.
Love looks like the wind, because it is not literally visible. However, it can be felt, giving proof to the saying that sometimes you have to believe to see. The only way of seeing love is through the ways people show it. I am thankful for being capable of knowing something exists, simply by feeling it and the power it holds.My thanks for love is different than the thanks I feel for anything ...