Frequently in poetry, a flowery sonnet blooms as the speaker attempts to sweep up the reader in scented verses. Love, in all its esoteric, unfathomable grandeur, has been a topic of choice for poets since the conception of the art. As a result, love poems are considered banal and cliched today. Even in the time of Andrew Marvell, love as it was embodied in poetry was being criticized. In "To His Coy Mistress," the speaker argues that the brevity of youth does not allow grand affairs and prolonged relationship. In T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", the speaker confides that such love is not worth the risks. The two poems are similar in that they both downplay the necessity of romantic love, however the aggressive tone of Marvell's speaker sharply contrasts with that of the uncertain Prufrock.
             The speakers in "Mistress" and "Prufrock" both assert that romance is not crucial in life. Marvell's poem does so very explicitly. In the first portion of the poem, the speaker describes how lavishly he would love and court the mistress, were he allowed enough time: "... I would Love you ten years before the Flood: And you should, if you please, refuse Till the Conversion of the Jews" (l. 7-10). These references to biblical events indicate a vast period of time "The Flood" occurs shortly after the Creation, and the "Conversion of the Jews" is said to happen at Armageddon (2.Deem) .At this point it is difficult to tell if the speaker is being sincere or facetious. However, after elaborating on how much time will be spent adoring which body part, there is a dramatic shift. In the second portion, the speaker emphasize the shortness of youth and the finality of death:
             "But at my back I always hear Times winged Chariot hurrying near And yonder all before us lye Deserts of vast Eternity. Thy Beauty shall no more be found" (l. 21-25).
             T...