To His Coy Mistress

588 Words2 Pages

Seduction has been the game most played through out the centuries, as males attempt to convince and invite females into their beds. In Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" and Donne's "The Flea", the speakers, propose a peccadilloes offer, which is so cunningly backed up by a liberalistic argument and is presented to each female when the generous request has been declined. These arguments are designed to induce thoughts of a carnal nature. The persuasions used by each are completely different but are structured entirely for one purpose. To corner or trick the maiden into saying "Yes". Though both arguements are supurb, Marvell's has a nicer, refined style to it. In "To His Coy Mistress" and "The Flea", there is an exemplification of just how crafty men can be during the hunt. The speakers, in both poems, makes a "modest" but declinable offer for sex to their maiden of choice. And, upon rejection, each male begins a fluent yet rhetoric arguments on why the maiden should accept his simple offer of passion. For Marvell, the argument was that there wasn't enough time left in the world, and that the maiden should partake in indulgence before it is too late." But at my back I always hear/ Times winged Charriot hurrying near"(lines 21-22). He also states the unpleasuarble thought of the worms enjoying her verginity instead of him. Suggesting that if she continues to waste time she will die a virgin. "then Worms shall try/ that long preserv'd Virginity:"(lines 27-28). Whereas Donne's argument revolves around a metaphorical flea. Which as claimed by the speaker, represents his union with the maiden in matrimony, since the flea has taken blood from them both."It suck'd me first and now sucks thee/And in this flea our two bloods mingled be"(lines 3-4). And, since their bloods have already mingled together, intercourse with him wouldn't be a sin and no honor would be lost if she yields to him."Though know'st that this cannot be said/A sin nor shame nor loss of maidenhood:" (lines 5-6) Though however similar the gist of the poems might be, the art of seduction used by each speaker is quite different. The speaker in "To His Coy Mistress" seems to change his tone of persuasion rapidly from stanza to stanza. At first he is sweet, comming across as a gentleman and overstating how many ages he would spent on a single part of her anatomy "A hundred years should go to praise/Thine Eyes.

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