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Essay / Visual Images of His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell
In the 17th century, women were viewed as an object rather than a human being and men had many desires for women. For example, women were expected to maintain their dignity, wait for court, and marry a suitable suitor before succumbing to the pleasures of the flesh. In the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, the author depicts the impatience and anger of the 17th century man, ready to convince his lady to take advantage of his youthful beauty. The speaker uses visual images to convey his tone and intention, using his point of view to attempt to demonstrate his love and in a voice that is as urgent as it is compelling and sensual, to lure his mistress to carnal delights. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Marvel depicts his poem convincing his love towards his wife through the use of visual images. He said, “And your picturesque honor shall turn all my lust to dust and ashes.” This evidence indicates that Marvell is referring to his lady's honor turning to dust and then ashes. This contributes to the poem by showing the love he has towards his wife and that they should be together as they won't be young forever and should enjoy it while they can and this should show their love for each other for the other, because one day it may be too late. He also states: “Now therefore, while the youthful hue rests on thy skin like the morning dew, and thy willing soul sweats from every pore with instantaneous fires.” This evidence shows that the female soul breathes "instant flames" of enthusiasm and passion for love through her beautiful skin. The author now wants his mistress to give in to his desire because she can still respond before time takes its toll. Marvell states that her main argument for her lover is that she must decide to have sex with him and use the time together wisely. In conclusion, Marvell tries to sound reasonable by saying that he will wait for his wife, but ultimately he just looks at her as an object and wants her to live up to his lustful desires and have sexual relations with him. The woman's concern for her appearance, her vanity, is the means that the author attempts to use to threaten her with the passage of time. His first flattery about her beauty is abstract, without any description. He expresses this through the use of visual imagery to express his tone and purpose in an attempt to demonstrate his desire and love to his wife. Works CitedAbrams, MH and Greenblatt, S. (Eds.). (2018). The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Seventeenth Century, Volume BWW Norton & Company. Baldwin, T. (2004). Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Research and Education Association. Brooks, C. (1947). The Wasteland: Criticism of the Myth. The Sewanee Review, 55(1), 9-24. Burrow, C. (Ed.). (2006). The complete sonnets and poems. Oxford University Press. Ferguson, M., Salter, M. and Stallworthy, J. (eds.). (2015). The Norton Anthology of Poetry (6th ed.). WW Norton & Company. Marvell, A. (1681). Various poems. Printed for Robert Boulter. Nelles, W. (2019). Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon. Cambridge University Press. Parfitt, G. (2017). Andrew Marvell: The poems. Routledge.St. John, I. (ed.). (2013). The Cambridge Companion to Andrew Marvell. Cambridge University Press. Williamson, G. (2018). A Reader's Guide to Andrew Marvell. Bloomsbury University.