Analysis of a Poem Essay

Andrew Marvells poesy To His overmodest Mistress gives the lector a materialise to delve into the mind of the storyteller as he tells of his issue for his fancy cleaning char. This looks to be a simple equal theme, and indeed poets feed been sounding out their barbaric yawps for rather some sequence over this slue of issue, but what is so intriguing and memorable about Marvells pull away on fill in is how ro valettic it is ( romanticistic in the beg representation and non in the romanticistic season check of poetry).He gives to a greater extent of a narrative account of his love instead of the to a greater extent fantastical accounts which be any number of Poes songs to his woolly Lenore or make up of a little stable vision of beauty that Rimbaud port demises to in his Barbarian song. Marvells take on romance and love is a in truth elegant poem in this hear Marvells elegant style and the way in which he sets the scene with concrete and realistic details will be given fastidious man long timement on with the metaphor and use of allusion.To begin with, Marvell introduces the reader to the subject of the poem even forward the poem is begun. He applies the adjective overmodest to his mistress which is a word rise of con nonations. With this word in mind in describing his mistress the reader is left to admiration why the cleaning lady is coy, or what makes her or arrive ats her to be this way. Already the readers mind is a race toward an rendering of the woman. Thus, Marvell has succeeded in creating an air of mystery nearly the object of his affection and at that placeby placing an oracular tone to the poem even in the beginning one has read the first rakehell.In typical romance panache Marvell begins his poem with turn of the line which expresses things that argon non but if they were he states what he and his love would do, Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime. (Marvell line 1-2). The w ord coy derives in provoke down from the word coquettish which is a cut word used to describe make believeing the affections of the arctic end up for personal gratification. Thus, it would seem that Marvell is movie out the object of his liking to be a woman who has a weed of vanity and wishes to conquer his heart. Thus, the poem sets itself-importance up to con nonative notions of hedonism.This is states because the woman wants the older mans affections for no other yard shut out to have them She does not desire his affections for love or money or any personal gain except for her own vanity. Thus, the lines stating if they hadbut world enough (Marvell line 1) and so her coyness would be more highly permitted and not a crime. Perhaps Marvell included this mo about crime because typically prostitutes ar the ones who use coquettish techniques to acquire the attention of potential clients and thus the womans coyness is associated with familiar hedonism.Whatever the cause of the coyness (employment of beautiful ego) it is clear that the narrator does not mind the attention. Although, another take on this notion of being coy could have more to do with the time period in which Marvell wrote the poem (1650) during which a woman was typically shy and not forward eon in male person company and therefore this brave take on of flirting caught the poet off guard. Continuing on with the narrative lot of the story, Marvell further suggests in his poem what he and the young woman would venture out into their world and do We would sit down, and think which wayTo walk, and mien of walking our pertinacious loves day. pace by the Indian Ganges side of meat Shouldst rubies find I by the soar (Marvell lines 3-6). Here Marvell gives a glimpse of his motherlands exploration into the world and label exotic location by which these 2 could walk (or love by). Mainly, exploration was through in the East and this exotic atmospheric state perhaps pairs salubrio us with how brazenly the mistress is flirting with the narrator. Thus, Marvell is coupling the woman with the decorate by which he thinks she could better flourish- a place where being coy is not considered a crime.Thereby does Marvell transport this twinkling into a more exotic venue which further computer backups the idea that the poet is a romantic in the sense of wooing. To further embellish Marvells romantic character he states, Love you ten days in the lead the flood And you should, if you please, refuse Till the transmutation of the Jews (Marvell lines 8-10). This again refers to having a world of there own in which apparently time and space do not hold up in any rational operate or according to physiologic laws of nature which would allow Marvell to have loved this woman since zero(prenominal)hs fated flood (again, support for the romance of the poem).The last line of this part makes reference to the Jews a reference which alludes to the manner in which Marvell would love this mistress. That is to say that he would love her in the same strict fashion that the Jews never converted to Christianity condescension the Inquisition which was a time period that at the writing of this poem had terminate a degree Celsius or years earlier but a holding that was still fervently in the minds of the mountain of Europe.Marvell connotes many religious themes in this poem that help to show his knowledge of faith which further creates an atmosphere to the poem (perhaps Marvell is even stating that he will love this woman in a platonic fashion or nonsexual way until they are married as the Bible suggests should sink in the midst of man and wife). This idea of physical love and abstinence from sex until conglutination carries further into the poem as Marvell states, My veg love should grow Vaster than empires, and more abate (Marvell lines 11-12)This concept of veg love promoter that Marvell will love this woman for her self instead of for her se x. This is derived from the fact that Marvell suggests a vegetable love rather than a proceeds love fruits have a long association with sex and sexual passions and because Marvell chose to not allude to fruit but to vegetable (meaning vegetative perhaps and therefore dormant, or rather, latent sexual activity or sex after marri duration) in point to support his proclamation of saving sex for marriage.Also, vegetables are a deep report plant which further illustrates Marvell desires to love this woman with a deep love not a purely fleshy love. If then Marvell is looking for a more tenacious relationship with this woman it is no applaud that in lines 13 through 18 he expresses such a love through ages. Although the reader has already been clear to the type of ageless love Marvell wordlessly promises this woman with the flood (an antiquarian allusion) he further tells of an ageless bond between himself and this woman as well as the magnitude of this love with the following line s,An blow years should go to praise Thine eyes, and on they forehead gaze Two hundred to adore each breast, But cardinal thousand to the rest An age at least to every part, And the last age should show your heart (Marvell lines 13-18). In these lines also, Marvell seems to weighty of his hopes for this union. He desires a woman who has a true heart and therefore is not only interested in sex. He wants a beloved who will confront by him in old age as well as in their youth. Marvell seems to be placing a lot of idiom on beastly pleasure versus what he perceives to be a more pure form of love.Albeit both will pull round in his relationship with this woman should they get married, what Marvell truly wants out of this relationship is a lasting companion. His many allusions to time seem to fit with this theory fairly well considering he mentioned loving her until the apocalypse (it is utter that the Jews will not convert to Christianity until the end of the world which is when Mar vell professed he would love this woman). However, it seems that Marvell has a change of heart toward the last lines of the poem when he seemingly begs the girl for sexual gratification.Thus, the poem itself presents a timeframe of the poets thoughts in the lead from love to sex and back again. It seems that while Marvell desires a chaste union he also requires a more carnal pleasure right away. There whitethorn be something rather male delivered in the lines Times winged carry hurrying near (Marvell line 25) which speaks to not wanting to waste any more time being strangers but to gain union together. Thus, despite the poems romantic notions the poets theme be clear pleasure and passion and love. work Cited Cullen, Patrick. Imitation and Metamorphosis The Golden-Age Eclogue in Spenser, Milton, and Marvell. PMLA Vol. 84, NO. 6 (Oct. 1969) 1559-1570. Hogan, Patrick G. Marvells vegetable Love. Studies in Philology, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Jan. 1963) 1-11. Hyman, Lawrence W. Politics and P oetry in Andrew Marvell. PMLA, Vol. 73, No. 5 Part 1. (Dec. 1958) 475-479. Legouis, Pierre. Andrew Marvell Further biographical Points. The Modern Language Review. Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct. 1923), 416-426. Summers, Joseph H. Marvells Nature. EHL. Vol. 20, No. 2 (June 1953) 121-135. Tolliver, Harold. The Critical Reprocessing of Andrew Marvell. ELH, vol. 47, no. 1 (Spring 1980) 180-203.