Some works of literature lend themselves to a multiplicity of meaning. This does not, however, mean that a work of literature can mean anything. Meaning must be drawn from the work, not imposed on it. Any interpretation of a work of literature must be adequately supported by evidence from the text itself. Using one of the assigned thesis statements, students will write a 600 word essay analyzing Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.”
There are links to explanations of some of the language and details in the poem. Many of these will appear as a popup window when selected. Others are links to definitions. These can be used without reference to the source of the explanation. Also, there are links to key terms in the possible thesis statements. These definitions can be used in the essay without attribution; however, restate them simply in your own words, demonstrating your understanding of the meaning of the terms. Do not include any biographical information about Marvell. Also, do not assume the speaker in the poem is the person Andrew Marvell. The speaker of a poem is a fictional persona 
. Refer to the speaker as the speaker and not as Marvell.
Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress" 1
Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, Lady, were no crime
We would sit down and think which way
To walk and pass our long love's day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side2 5
Shouldst rubies find: I by the tide
Of Humber3 would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood4,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till tHe conversion of the Jews5. 10
My vegetable 6 love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast, 15
But thirty thousand to the rest;7
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, Lady, you deserve this state8,
Nor would I love at lower rate9. 20
But at my back I always hear
Time's wingéd chariot10 hurrying near;
And yonder11 all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity12.
Thy beauty shall no more be found, 25
Nor, in thy marble vault13+14, shall sound
My echoing song: then worms 15try16
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint17 honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust18: 30
The grave's a fine and private19 place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue20
Sits on thy skin like morning dew21,
And while thy willing22 soul transpires23 35
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport24 us while we may,
And now, like amorous25 birds of prey26,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish27 in his slow-chapt28 power. 40
Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough29 the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun 45
Stand still,30 yet we will make him run31.
Explanatory Notes
1 Beloved Woman rather than an adulterous affair
2 The Ganges River is located in India and Bangladesh.
3 The Humber River is near Hull where Marvell was born.
4 The Great Flood (Noah) in the Bible
5 According to the Apostle Paul, the Jews will be converted when Christ returns.
6 Growing like a vegetable
7 Could this be a sexual innuendo?
8 royal treatment, to be treated like a head of state
9 suggesting she is worth this kind of attention
10 Classical reference to the chariot of the Gods, here suggesting the cliché that time flies
11Yonder: in that indicated more or less distant place usually within sight
12 that is, barren, sterile, without life
13 Double entendre: This may be a euphemism for the female sex organ as well as a reference to a funeral vault.
14 Double entendre: a word or expression capable of two interpretations with one usually risqué
15 Phallic symbol?
16 Test, exercise effort against
17Concerned with what is proper; also a sexial innuendo referring to the female sex organ (similar in sound to a derogatory term used in contemporary society)
18 What is it that would have turned to ashes? Is this another double entendre?
19 Why does he mention that it is private? What is he alluding to?
20 complexion
21 Originally, instead of dew, the word may have been glew, an old form of the word glow. Would glow make better sense?
22 Willing to do what?
23 Ambiguity: Transpire can mean "totake place"; "to become known or apparent"; "to be revealed: come to light"; or "to give off vaporous material or pas in the form of a vapor from a living body." Which of these meanings could be meant? How do the different meanings change the interpretation of the line?
24 make love (archaic use)
25 strongly moved by love and especially sexual love
26 Why the image of birds of prey? What does this suggest? How does it relate to the line about tearing pleaure with rough strife (line 44)?
27 Ambiguity: Languish can mean to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated; to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality; to suffer neglect; to assume an expression of grief or emotion appealing for sympathy. Which of these meanings could be meant? How do the different meanings change the interpretation of the line?
28 slow-jawed--sees time as slowly devouring them
29 Archaic form of the word "through"
30 Joshua 10:11-14 Joshua commands the sun to stand still so that the Israelites can defeat their enemies.
31 or make the time pass quickly
Possible thesis statements for analyzing "To His Coy Mistress"
Each of these thesis statements represent different perspectives on the meaning of "To His Coy Mistress." Some are variations on each other, emphasizing different aspects of a perspective. Others are divergent perspectives. Each, however, can be supported by specific evidence within the poem. (Definitions are provided for words or phrases which may not be familiar to students.)
Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress"
- develops a carefully constructed argument where the speaker seeks to persuade his lady to surrender her virginity to him.
- argues for sexual freedom in opposition to empty social proprieties (mores) restricting sexual activity.
(Propriety - conformity to what is socially acceptable in conduct or speech)
(Mores - the fixed morally binding customs of a particular group) - argues against romantic or courtly views of love in favor of a more "honest" eroticism.
(Courtly - Behavior befitting the court (chivalric); insincerely flattering) - argues that life must be lived to its fullest because life is fleeting (carpe diem).
(Carpe diem: Literally, seize the day. - the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future) - expresses an empirical philosophy of life that sees reality--life, love, and human enterprise--in primarily physical and temporal terms and ridicules any "romantic" or "spiritual" view of reality.
(Empirical - relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory) - illustrates the clever use of thinly veiled sexual innuendo, erotic metaphor, and mocking humor as aids to sexual conquest.
(Innuendo - insinuation, a veiled or equivocal reflection on character or reputation)
(Metaphor: suggests a camparison by wording a sentence as if two unlike things are the same. The comparison is never directly stated.)
- argues that, in a world where death rules supreme and time is limited, life's true meaning and purpose can only be found in physical (i.e., sexual) pleasure.
- reveals the speaker's attempt to use the physical pleasures of sex to resist, ignore, or escape the empty reality of a lifeless eternity.
- expresses a cynical, self-centered view of life that sees the only escape from the despair of a lifeless eternity in the physical pleasures of sexual intimacy.
(Cynical - based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.) - expresses a cynical view of life through the use of hyperbole, sexual innuendo, and mocking humor.
(Cynical - based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.)
(Hyperbole: exaggeration; overstatement)
(Innuendo - insinuation, a veiled or equivocal reflection on character or reputation) - criticises social views of propriety and decency and calls for an "honest" acceptance of self-interest and self-actualization.
(Propriety - conformity to what is socially acceptable in conduct or speech)
(Self-actualization is the realization of one's full potential, becoming the most complete version of oneself through personal growth, creativity, and a pursuit of meaning) - argues for the "urgency of living" in the face of life's brevity (another way of stating the carpe diem theme).
(Brevity - shortness of duration)
(Carpe diem: Literally, seize the day. - the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future) - argues against traditional views of immortality in favor of an existential view of immortality. (Immortality - unending existence) (Existential - grounded in existence or the experience of existence; concerned with or involving human existence or its nature)
- reveals a speaker, who, like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, uses partial truths and appeals to vanity in order to tempt the woman.
Requirements
- Length: Minimum of 600 words.
- Documentation Format: MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for Marvell.
- Sources: Restricted to Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”
- Number of sources: One - “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
For this essay, students must not use any sources other than Marvell’s poem. Students may use a dictionary to help them understand words with which they are not familiar but should not refer to the dictionary definitions in their essay. Students' analysis of the theme should be based on their own close reading of “To His Coy Mistress.” Students must use one of the thesis statements assigned.
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify Marvell and a line number from the poem. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited entry at the end of their essay. Follow the MLA Citation Format for Composition Textbooks (in eLearn Course Content) following the format for citing a single work from the Composition II textbook. When quoting from the poem, students should quote exactly without changing punctuation or capitalization except for, as needed, end punctuation. Students should use a slash ( / ) to indicate a line break in the original poem. If the end punctuation is not needed at the end of a quote, students may eliminate it or replace it with the punctuation they need to end the sentence. For example, in the following sentence about Shakespeare’s poem, “That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold,” the comma at the end of the line from the poem is unneeded, but a period is needed to end the sentence:
Finally, students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, one inch margins, in Arial or Times Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 600 words (two typewritten pages) in length.
Essay Map
Introduction
Lead
The introduction should provide the necessary background information for the thesis selected.
Thesis
Use one of the possible thesis statements provided for this assignment..
Body
Topic Sentences
Create topic sentences that identify supporting arguments for the selected thesis. Each argument should make clear how it supports the thesis. What arguments does the speaker in the poem make, and how do those support the selected thesis?
Supporting Details
For each argument in support of the selected thesis, provide specific and detailed evidence from the poem. Explain how the details support the arguments and advance an understanding of the thesis selected.
Conclusion
What is the significance, importance, relevance, or value of the selected thesis? How does it apply to the present?
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