To His Coy Mistress
Close Textual Reading Questions
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Outline the speaker’s argument in three sentences that begin with the words If, But and Therefore.
What is the speaker trying to achieve with the allusions in lines 8 & 10?
How does “vegetable love” (11) contrast with the simile “… like amorous birds of prey…” in line 38? Explain how each
phrase is appropriate to its section of the poem.
Explain how the allusion “Times winged chariot” (22) has connotations of speed and death. How do these connotations
further the speaker’s argument?
Explain how “sun” in line 45 is a metonymy. How is it a pun?
How does diction reveal the tone in the three sections of the poem? Name the tones as precisely as you can and comment on
three examples of diction from each section.
To His Coy Mistress
Close Textual Reading Questions
Outline the speaker’s argument in three sentences that begin with the words If, But and Therefore.
What is the speaker trying to achieve with the allusions in lines 8 & 10?
How does “vegetable love” (11) contrast with the simile “… like amorous birds of prey…” in line 38? Explain how each
phrase is appropriate to its section of the poem.
Explain how the allusion “Times winged chariot” (22) has connotations of speed and death. How do these connotations
further the speaker’s argument?
Explain how “sun” in line 45 is a metonymy. How is it a pun?
How does diction reveal the tone in the three sections of the poem? Name the tones as precisely as you can and comment on
three examples of diction from each section.
To His Coy Mistress
Close Textual Reading Questions
Outline the speaker’s argument in three sentences that begin with the words If, But and Therefore.
What is the speaker trying to achieve with the allusions in lines 8 & 10?
How does “vegetable love” (11) contrast with the simile “… like amorous birds of prey…” in line 38? Explain how each
phrase is appropriate to its section of the poem.
Explain how the allusion “Times winged chariot” (22) has connotations of speed and death. How do these connotations
further the speaker’s argument?
Explain how “sun” in line 45 is a metonymy. How is it a pun?
How does diction reveal the tone in the three sections of the poem? Name the tones as precisely as you can and comment on
three examples of diction from each section.
To His Coy Mistress
Close Textual Reading Questions
Outline the speaker’s argument in three sentences that begin with the words If, But and Therefore.
What is the speaker trying to achieve with the allusions in lines 8 & 10?
How does “vegetable love” (11) contrast with the simile “… like amorous birds of prey…” in line 38? Explain how each
phrase is appropriate to its section of the poem.
Explain how the allusion “Times winged chariot” (22) has connotations of speed and death. How do these connotations
further the speaker’s argument?
Explain how “sun” in line 45 is a metonymy. How is it a pun?
How does diction reveal the tone in the three sections of the poem? Name the tones as precisely as you can and comment on
three examples of diction from each section.
To His Coy Mistress
Close Textual Reading Questions
Outline the speaker’s argument in three sentences that begin with the words If, But and Therefore.
What is the speaker trying to achieve with the allusions in lines 8 & 10?
How does “vegetable love” (11) contrast with the simile “… like amorous birds of prey…” in line 38? Explain how each
phrase is appropriate to its section of the poem.
10. Explain how the allusion “Times winged chariot” (22) has connotations of speed and death. How do these connotations
further the speaker’s argument?
11. Explain how “sun” in line 45 is a metonymy. How is it a pun?
12. How does diction reveal the tone in the three sections of the poem? Name the tones as precisely as you can and comment on
three examples of diction from each section.
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