The Interplay Between Time, Love, and Death.

      In Andrew Marvell’s poem, “To His Coy Mistress,” there is an interplay between time, love, and death. In the first stanza, the author declares his eternal love, by comparing this love to a “vegetable love” that will grow “faster than empires.”  This perspective demonstrates that he is already in love with his “mistress.” However, he also states that his love will continue to grow throughout the years, as he focuses his love to each of her body parts.  This is an interesting perspective on time. He perceives time as moving quickly, but yet he claims its eternal. From the first line of the poem, he gives the reader a sense of urgency by claiming, “Had we but world enough and time.” This shows that time is of the essence and that one must not waste one’s life. He also immediately discusses his mistress’s “coyness” relative to time. Had there been a sufficient amount of time, he declares he would have no issue waiting for the consummation of their love. He says he would pursue her even if she were to “refuse till the conversion of the Jews.” Nevertheless, as time is constantly ticking, he considers her “coyness” a crime.  In the second stanza, the poem switches from the eternity of time to graphic images of death. He discusses the repercussions of their abstinence. He refers to death by saying “time’s winged chariot” is hurrying near. This personification of time illustrates that time can be viewed as a thief who will rob people of their lives, if they do not live it fully. His image of the “marble” coffin and the worms, which eat away at one’s body, create a deeper sense of urgency. He completes the image by stating that love is only present in this world. This is true because after people are in their coffins, they no longer have the opportunity to “embrace” and love. In the third stanza, he creates images of youth and life. This stresses the importance of expressing love and sexuality as one travels “through the iron gates of life.” The theme of the poem is “carpe diem” and how although physical love dies after death, spiritual love is eternal.