To His Coy Mistress
We all have the choice either to take advantage of time or allow time to take advantage of us. This is the idea presented in To His Coy Mistress, a poem by Andrew Marvell. In this poem, the opportunity of living life to the fullest or choosing to squander your time is supplied through symbolism. Symbolism is conveying impressions by suggestion rather than by direct statements. Using symbolism to express ideas makes it possible to visualize situations presented, and in this case it makes time seem almost visible. Time is symbolized through a lover attempting to lure a woman into engaging in sexual relations with him. The idea that time is running out is asserted throughout the poem, as time is the lover's excuse for wanting this sort of relationship so urgently. The very first line, "Had we but world enough, and time" brings out the f
The lover feels they should commence before Apollo in his chariot brings the sun of their final days out of the sky. It is then reinforced through hyperbole in the following phrases such as "A hundred years should go to praise / Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze; / Two hundred to adore each breast, / But thirty thousand to the rest; / An age at least to every part. The symbolism of the poem conveys an urgency to act now before the opportunity to live our lives to their maximum capacity runs out. " These lines symbolize the lack of time the lover has to show his mistress the adoration she is worthy of, "For, Lady, you deserve this state. " The lover is not afraid of death however ("The grave's a fine and private place"), he is afraid of not fulfilling life to its utmost potential. your quaint honor turn to dust / And into ashes all my lust. "Rather at once our time devour" shows the urgency of it all. "Let us sport us while we may" is another line that emphasizes how the opportunity to take full advantage of life will not last forever. Time can be taken advantage of, or it can take advantage of you, the choice is yours. "Now therefore, while the youthful hue / Sits on thy skin like morning dew," represents also the need for immediate action while she is still young and it is still early.
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