TO HIS COY MISTRESSby Andrew Marvell

The title makes the reader expect the speaking voice’s lady is not ready to satisfy her lover requests. The reason is not clear because the reader doesn’t know why the mistress is said to be coy: is it because she is shy? This is a good reason to read the poem.

Why is the speaking voice using an “if clause”? It justifies the imaginary situation of the present. A man is speaking: he is aware he and his mistress have not got enough space and time for their love. Men’s time and space are not eternal. World is a container of them.

What is the crime? It is woman’s coyness, according to the man. Human beings are not everlasting, therefore coyness is a crime: the “mistress” should not refuse his feelings and love. Lovers aim at disregarding the mortal nature of men.

The poet uses a very high register: he wants to underline that the lady had caught him in spell, he is trapped in love. She would go to the bank of the Gange to look for very precious stones ("rubies") . She is very respectful.

In contrast, he would stay on the bank of the Humber (English river)--> the man refers to the different contrasting importance of the two characters.

The assonance of the sound “I” refers to pain, characterized by the sound “Ahi”. The similar sounds( time, crime, by, side, tide…) record suffering of the speaking voice. To speak about love the poet uses irony and opposing and very different concepts. Moreover, sentences referring to the semantic field of RELIGION are presented from the 11th line (“Flood”); at line 14 the reference to Jews indicates something will never happen.