Criticism on Andrew Marvell’s poem “To his Coy Mistress.”

Andrew Marvell is a famous poet of the sixteenth century, but his work was more prominent in the twentieth century. He was born on 31st March 1621 in England and died in the year 1678 at the age of 57 (Poetry Foundation). The fellow was entirely exposed to the dominant religion of the time, Christianity since his father was a reverend who was later appointed the lecturer of The Holy Trinity Church. The minister was also named the master of the Charterhouse when Andrew was three years old. The poet had a rich educational background and had a close relationship with the royal family. Marvell worked for prominent people before he was elected Hull’s member of parliament. Marvell’s involvement with the royal family and government, when elected a member of parliament, explains how politicized his poems were. For the first time in history, literary work was seen serving the greater good of the society especially when his work helped in freeing Milton who was put behind bars during the Catholic restoration days.  He criticized and praised people and government institutions through his literary work. Little is known about his personal life, but it is clear that he was a traveler enthusiast (Poetry Foundation). He lived his life as an unmarried man, but when he died, his housekeeper revealed that she was the secret wife of Andrew Marvell which many doubted. Some literary critics view the poem “To his Coy Mistress” as a letter to his mistress, maybe the secret wife. There could be various interpretations of the verse; denotative meaning, the most obvious and the one considered to be the real meaning of the verse by many, and the connotative meaning which is determined by the angle used to analyze the poem.

            For a better understanding of the poem, it would be wise to look at the era and the literary movement the poem was written. These two factors aid in the poem’s interpretation and analysis. Traditionally England is a Catholic nation, and throughout history, the country has concurred many nations and forced its religion on its colonies. During the 16th century, a lot of people suffered from religious impunities. People were forced to live in the Catholic way of life. Marvell had traveled a lot and was quite exposed to new ideas of living, and this attribute helped restructure his religious inclination.  In his works, he showed a lot of tolerance to sacred deserts. The literary movement that was prominent during his time was the Metaphysical movement. This was a secularization movement that was embracing modernism and was trying to leave the Catholic doctrines and way of life. Metaphysical poets had their proficiency in using strange smiles and metaphors (Amy). They highly discussed religion and appreciated beauty in their works. Most of their poems were written in verse form and utilized beauty to talk about complicated themes.  On that note, my criticism is on how Andrew Marvell uses imagery to show how his country’s political structure is and in a way he is advising his nation to embrace bilateral talks with countries instead of waging wars. I will take time to explain the two meanings in the poem; the denotative and connotative meaning. My criticism will primarily focus on the connotative meaning on how politically oriented the poem “To his Coy Mistress “by Andrew Marvell is.

            Many literary critics have viewed the poem as a seductive erotic poem which I do not dispute. The denotative meaning is that the poet is talking about his mistress and how beautiful she is. He praises her body; part by part and says he would admire it all his life. The speaker asks the mistress not to leave him for greener pastures. The word mistress is quite oppressive and demeaning to a woman because the woman has no legal right in the relationship. Considering England was a Christian nation, having a mistress was a crime, and the poet illustrates that in the first line; “This coyness, lady, were no crime. We would sit down, and think which way.” The lines show that according to Catholic doctrines it was illegal to have a mistress.  The speaker fears that one day the mistress would leave him and go and get married since he cannot marry her because if she is a mistress then is a wife. “To walk, and pass our long love’s day. Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side. Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide of Humber would complain.” The poet is afraid the mistress might find someone to make her more than a mistress.  Religious conflict is evident when the speaker asks the mistress to ignore the religious doctrines and follow her heart. “I would love you ten years before the flood. And you should, if you please, refuse. Till the conversion of the Jews.” These lines talk about where Jews would convert to Christianity and we all know that Jews back then were very committed to their Judaism religion so converting to Christianity was almost impossible. The speaker is asking the mistress not to accept the religious doctrines and love him till the end of the world.  The speaker continues praising the mistress and asks her to give herself to him when they can both have the chance to enjoy and love each other.

            The above sense of interpretation is what makes other critics view the piece as a seductive and sexual orientated piece. Henry Vaughan gives a short analysis of Marvell’s poem “To his Coy Mistress” in a sexual perspective. The critic of Henry points out the short lifespan of an individual and says that the speaker is asking his mistress to make use of the little time they have together and make love. The writer affirms his criticism on the use of words such as “vegetable love “which could be a secret word that the speaker uses.  Taylor Mark shares the same kind sexual analysis as Vaughan. Another criticism is one said to divert attention from the seductive nature of the poem by Halli Robert W. Robert says that the poem is about procreation. He is quick to notice the religious background of England. The religious experience is supposed to affect the thinking and meaning of the poem. Traditionally and religiously, sex was used for procreation, and Robert feels there is a connection between the poetry and the religious belief and use of sex. The aspect of ‘floods’ according to Robert introduces the Christian view of the end of the world. Procreation is not far from erotic adventures in fact through sexual escapades, procreation factor emerges. As much as Robert argues that during the 16th

century, sex was serving the purpose of procreation and that sexual pleasures were not talked about, sexual pleasures were still at the front row just that little was spoken about the topic in public. The above sexual analysis of the poem goes in line with my denotative meaning, but there is a connotative meaning in between the lines.  With the two arguments explaining the sexually oriented versions of the poem, here is my connotative political oriented version of the piece.

            Metaphysical poets expressed complex themes and matters in literary works by using beauty and love (Amy). Andrew Marvell is no different in his poem “To his Coy Mistress.” Given the poet’s political orientation and a couple of his political pieces, it is not entirely unusual to interpret the poem in a political dimension.  The author used his political verse satire to attack court corruption and advocate for political and religious liberty. During his era, England was very popular in invading new lands and making the areas its territory. He was against England brutality when they wanted to overpower a particular community in other areas. Below are a discussion and illustrations on how the poet uses words to converse a very important message to his country.

            “This coyness, lady, were no crime. We would sit down, and think which way.” Traditionally, Britain considered any human being who wasn’t a Christian and not a Muslim or Jew to be uncivilized. The term uncivilized meant one who could not survive on himself. The uncivilized individual was considered a person without the capability to rule over his people.  During the exploration period, British explorers would look for productive natural resources in new places in the world. If the group found productive resources, they would go back to their country and come with another government official to inspect the place after which; the government would create territories in the foreign lands. Anyone who would get in their way would perish. In some instances, the government of England collaborated with local institutions in doing business. The English government had partnerships with an Indian company but after some time, England wanted more. Andrew Marvell uses the phrase “coyness lady” to refer to the uncivilized person or nation.

The poet also indicates that being uncivilized is not a crime or plague like the Europeans viewed it where he says “This coyness, lady, were no crime.” The line meant that civilization was not the standard to measure humanity and his government should stop treating people from other uncivilized nations like animals. Instead, he wanted everyone to be treated with the dignity and respect one deserved. “To walk, by the Indian Ganges’ side Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide of Humber would complain.” By these lines, Marvell is talking about how European nations fought for fertile and productive lands in foreign countries. India is a country known to have gold mines, and England wanted a share of it. As stated early British had established its position in India by the 1600s but then, the England government did not run the country directly. Marvel foretold how the British government would colonize India in his lines “I by the tide of Humber would complain.” The statement indicates that there will be a time when his country will want more from India and England will achieve this by having total control of the whole country which is via colonization. The colonization factor gives meaning to the word “mistress.” Mistress is a symbol of rich natural resources that are only offered by mother nature and countries fight over these resources over and over. The poet claims that leadership of England wants to steal natural resources from other countries, and that is why they waged wars with these countries. The word “mistress” perfectly fit in the context because no one owns mistresses. The lands that British want to take does not belong to them and so the word gets a new meaning. The poet is eloquent in using words of beauty and relationship to show to show the aftermath of colonization.

Andrew Marvell gives an illustration of how colonization will cause war and also talks of the threat that the war will cause where too, he assures the result would be more dreadful than anticipated.  “Time’s winged chariot hurrying near, and yonder all before we lie. Deserts of vast eternity. Thy beauty shall no more be found …then shall try. That long-preserved virginity. And your singular honor turns to dust. And to ashes all my lust.” With these lines comes with a high warning to England.  He warns that the war would cost more than we could offer. A lot of death would be expected from both parties, and it is clear when he says that people will die with their resources. After people have killed each other, all the beautiful and resourceful amenities will be left to waste. He says that the only thing that shall be left are worms feeding on our corpses. The use of vivid description is quite pronounced on how everything will be brought to ashes and larvae feeding on our bodies, is very useful. The image created in our minds, though not by use of big words or symbols but by use of the tone and arrangement of words, brings the meaning of the poem to life and one can understand it better. The writer says that our beauty and all that we own might perish in the war. In the same poem, Andrew explains how this problem can be solved as seen in the next paragraph.

The poet identifies the way to a better understanding and creating a good working environment would be loving, appreciating one another and being tolerant with one another. In the following lines, the poet shows how this can be exercised, “I would love you ten years before the flood.” The line is talking about how a government can interact with another in a foreign country. Instead of attacking and starting to wage war against one another, the country should consider having an understanding. “My vegetable love should grow faster than empires and slower a hundred years should go praise …” This line encourages tolerance and appreciation. In every country, leaders are asked to be tolerant with one another and respect one another for the two countries to live in a conducive environment. The poet goes on and writes a description of a beautiful world where one concentrates not only on the ugly side of a country but should learn to appreciate the positive things of one another.

Andrew Marvell indicates that the fruits of respective understanding between countries would benefit all stakeholders. “Let us roll all our strength and all our sweetness into one ball. And tear our pleasures with rough strife.”  With these lines, Andrew shows the positivity and benefit of having an understanding between countries. Here he encourages the spirit of working together to a profitable outcome rather than fighting and losing everything we have ever worked for in our lives. “Through the iron gates of life. Thus, though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run.” In his concluding lines, Andrew shows the power of working together and says that the government bodies can work together. Where the calamities come, the two communities can trust one another to aid in any way possible. Together an empire is created, but in war, a plague is born.

In conclusion, it is evident that the experiences of the poet invite numerous interpretations. Many literary critics have thought the poem as an original piece. The denotative meaning of the verse about sexual desires and sexual orientation. On the other hand, the connotative meaning is a political analysis of events. The piece creates a social awareness call on the consequences that would be caused by waging wars among countries. The technic of using sex and beauty to talk of complex subjects was most prominent in the metaphysics era. Andrew Marvell writing in the days of metaphysics, used the same technic to communicate the worst outcome of the war and in the same piece offers preventive measures.

Works Cited

Amy, M. Austin. "Literary Movements and Literary Periods."Quizlet, 2018, https://quizlet.com/23354375/literary-movements-and-literary-periods-flash-cards/

. Accessed 20 April 2018.

Halli. W.  Robert. “The Persuasion of the Coy Mistress.” Philological Quarterly, vol. 80, no. 1, 2001, pp. 57-70  https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-92907174/the-persuasion-of-the-coy-mistress

. Accessed 20 April 2018.

Poetry Foundation. “To his Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell.” Poetry Foundation,

2015, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress. Accessed 20 April 2018.

---.

“Andrew Marvell.” Poetry Foundation, 2018, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/Andrew-Marvell.  Accessed 20 April 2018.

Vaughan, Henry. "10 of the Best Andrew Marvell Poems everyone should read: The Greatest Marvell's Poems.” 2017,  https://interestingliterature.com/2017/01/20/10-of-the-best-andrew-marvell-poems-everyone-should-read/.  Accessed 20 April 2018.