"To His Coy Mistress" is a poem written by Andrew Marvell in the 17th century. The poem is a seduction poem, in which the speaker, a man, attempts to persuade his mistress to succumb to his sexual advances.
The poem is structured in three stanzas, each of which presents a different argument for why the mistress should give in to the speaker's desires. In the first stanza, the speaker appeals to the mistress's sense of immortality, pointing out that if they had all the time in the world, he would be able to lavish her with attention and love. He imagines a scenario in which he could "love [her] ten years before the Flood" and "when the whole world was at rest."
In the second stanza, the speaker shifts his focus to the present, acknowledging that time is fleeting and that they do not have the luxury of infinite time. He urges the mistress to seize the moment and embrace their physical desire for each other, saying, "Now therefore, while the youthful hue/ Sits on thy skin like morning dew,/ And while thy willing soul transpires/ At every pore with instant fires,/ Now let us sport us while we may,/ And now, like amorous birds of prey,/ Rather at once our time devour,/ Than languish in his slow-chapt power."
In the final stanza, the speaker takes a more ominous tone, warning the mistress that if she does not give in to his advances, she will regret it when she is old and gray and "despised love" is all that is left to her. He tells her, "Then worms shall try/ That long preserved virginity,/ And your quaint honor turn to dust,/ And into ashes all my lust."
Overall, "To His Coy Mistress" is a compelling and thought-provoking poem that explores the themes of desire, mortality, and the fleeting nature of time. The speaker's arguments are persuasive, but also manipulative, as he tries to convince the mistress to give in to his desires by appealing to her fears and playing on her sense of urgency. Despite his persuasive arguments, the mistress is ultimately left to decide whether to give in to the speaker's advances or to resist his advances and maintain her autonomy.
