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Alexa Martin
Professor Maenhardt
ENGL 2600
30 July 2014
Essay 3: To and From His Coy Mistress Comparison
“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and the parody of it, “From His Coy Mistress
to Mr. Marvell” by A.D. Hope, show different perspectives of men and women and how courting
in “love” should work. The original poem shows a man trying to convince a woman to sleep
with him and the parody shows the woman’s response to him. These two poems were written in
different time periods which add style to the feel poems. They also have distinct tones that give
each a specific voice that comes out to the reader. Feminist/Gender critics could look at the
original poem and the parody, and critique how men and women differ in opinions and ideals of
love. Historical critics could show how with previous times in history, there were specific
protocols for men and women and as time went on, the roles started to mesh together. This
caused people, specifically women, to change their attitudes and way they would respond to
other women and men.
The man in “To His Coy Mistress” approaches a woman and is trying to convince her, in
any way he can, that sleeping with him is a good thing. He approaches it in three separate ways:
“flattery”, threats, and logic/haste. Since he is using so many methods, it makes one think he is
not winning over her affection so he needs to use many strategies to make her feel as he does. At
the beginning he is telling her that his love will continue to grow for her, “My vegetable love
should grow…and more slow” (Marvell, 205-06). and he would admire every part of her, then
he drastically changes his mood and tells her that she will die a virgin and the “worms shall try
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That long preserv’d virginity” (Marvell, 206). Then he ends talking about the passion and love
they could have. “At every pore with instant fires…our time devour…And rear our
pleasures…Thorough the iron gates of life” (Marvell, 206). This poem follows his anxiousness:
at the beginning it is slow and loving, then he starts to become desperate, so he tries to scare her
with the idea of dying without having felt love, and then by the end, he uses words such as “run”,
“devour”, “sport”, etc. which all imply quick activity. This can symbolize how frantic he starts
to feel because he thinks she will refuse his offer once and for all.
On the other hand, “From His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell” shows all the faults in the
man’s approach to courting. She chastises him for calling her “coy” and “mistress” and says that
his “poem lacked…logic, modesty, and tact” (Hope online). She reprimands him for making it
seem as though he would be the only good thing she could find, and for making it seem like he
was in charge of her. “Who gave you leave To wear my heart upon your sleeve? Or to imply, as
sure you do, I had no other choice than you And must remain upon the shelf” (Hope online). She
is very forward with him and has a definite stubbornness in her tone. It is obvious by how much
attitude she gives him that she does not approve of how he talked to her. “Shall I be moved to
love you, pray, By hints that I must soon decay? No woman's won by being told How quickly
she is growing old; Nor will such ploys, when all is said, Serve to stampede us into bed.” (Hope
online). When she uses “stampede”, “ploys”, and “decay”, they give such a negative connotation
that it shows how much disdain she has for this man who is trying to woo her so that she will
sleep with him.
The two tones in these poems are very distinct, one is desperate and the other is loathing;
they show the personalities of the two voices. A Feminist or Gender critic would be able to use
these two poems and see how in one situation, there can be multiple ways to view it. The man
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thinks that he is making her fall for him because he is using many forms to convince her like
flattery, threats of getting old, and the haste of lost time. “An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes,…Nor would I love at lower rate” (Marvell, 206). Whereas the woman thinks he is
foolish for him telling her that she is getting old and that she can “see Just what it is you offer
me: Love on the run, a rough embrace Snatched in the fury of the chase, The grave before us and
the wheels Of Time's grim chariot at our heels” (Hope online). Even though he talks about love,
she takes what he says as more of a “one night stand” than real love.
“To His Coy Mistress” was written in the 1600s which was a time period where men had
the control in society and in relationships. The way the man was talking to the “coy mistress”
was acceptable in that time and the woman would not have been able to necessarily talk back. In
the poem, he made it seem as though the woman had an option to refuse his offer “I would Love
you ten years before the Flood; And you should, if you please, refuse Till the conversion of the
Jews” (Marvell, 205). However, when he continues to try to coerce her and turns to a more
threatening tone, “The grave’s a fine and private place, But none I think do there embrace”
(Marvell, 206). it shows that he did not exactly mean that she was “allowed” to refuse.
In contrast, “From His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell” was written in the 1900s which was
a time period where women started to fight for their rights and became more individual and
independent. Therefore, it would make sense to why this poem was so forward and bold to the
man’s poem. “Had you addressed me in such terms And prattled less of graves and worms, I
might, who knows, have warmed to you; But, as things stand, must bid adieu (Though I am
grateful for the rhyme) And wish you better luck next time” (Hope online). The woman has a lot
of attitude towards him in this statement. Back in the 1600s, she would have never been
permitted to say those things to the man and give him that much “sass”.
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Historical critics could focus on this idea and the “rights” permitted to women in both the
1600s and the 1900s. They could focus on some of the laws that allowed or didn’t allow women
to act in society, or the roles of women. They were different in each of these times, back in the
1600s they were mothers and the men were the political leaders and other high positions. In the
1900s, women could work or be mothers and they could start to participate in the political world
with the men. These rules and guidelines of society play a big role in how these poems were
portrayed. They followed the time they were written in very well. Men were more dominant
back then, and as time went on, women had some of that power as well.
“To His Coy Mistress” and “From His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell” focus on the ideas
of love and how men and women view the methods of courting. It shows how the man might
think that he is flattering but the woman thinks he is being pushy and crude. The time periods
that both of these were written allowed for different roles in society for women, this had an
impact on the response of “To His Coy Mistress”. If it would have been written earlier, “From
His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell” would have been much less bold in chastising the man. These
poems allow the reader to see how the other gender thinks and also entertain them with the
symbols and tone of voice.
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Works Cited
Hope, A.D.. “From His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell.” Online.
Marvell, Andrew. "To His Coy Mitress." Close Reading: An Introduction to Literature. By
Elisabeth A. Howe. Boston: Longman, 2010. 205-06. Print.