Andrew Marvell's and Lady Wortley Montagu's Poems

The poet of 'To His Coy Mistress', Andrew Marvell, was born in Hull in 1621, he was a metaphysical poet in seventeenth century England. Both he and Lady Wortley Montagu (born 1689), the poet of 'Answer To A Love Letter', were involved in English learned high society and in these works wrote their opinions and view on love and the role of women in love.

'To His Coy Mistress' begins by using gentle persuasion and eloquent language to try and win over his mistress.

This is best shown using this quote:

"We would sit down, and think which way,

To walk and pass our long love's day."

This quote explains very well how the poet tries to encourage his mistress into loving him, by telling her that if she is coy it doesn't matter as they have all the time in the world and can just sit down and watch life pass by until she is ready to take their relationship to a physical level.

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This tactic is also used in 'An Answer To A Love Letter', but is not the first tactic used as the intention is different. There is however a minor hint of gentle persuasion when the poet talks of his, "plenteous fortune," and, "beauteous bride,". This is intended to show how lucky the subject is and that the poet is just a minor flight of fancy. She then later goes on to say that she is not what he wants by saying:

"Yet leaving her - 'tis me that you pursue

Without one single charm, but being new.

"

These lines not only intend to show him that she is not what he wants, but almost that she isn't worthy of him as she doesn't have, "one single charm,". This is also an attempt at logical reasoning to try and make the focus of the poem see sense and 'call off his dogs', as shown later when she compares man to a pug.

This effort to make the man to whom she is writing the poem to realise the error in his ways also manifests itself in 'To His Coy Mistress' where the poet trys to seduce his love by telling her that:

"But at my back I always hear

Time's wing�d chariot hurrying near,"

This extract is a complete reversal of the ideals the poet had earlier, as before he was telling us of the vast amounts of time they could spend together. But now it seems as if time is flowing like a turbulent river and they have only the moment which they are in to share their love before being swept away. This is also quite logical though as in the 'big scheme of things' our lives last only for a dot on a huge timeline of existence.

There is also a connection between this logic and the obsequiousness and flattery in 'To His Coy Mistress', as although the arguments are not entirely logical they intend to make it seem to the subject as if they make sense. This is shown in where the poet says:

"Now, therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits upon thy skin like morning dew,"

The quotation above intends to tell the focus of the poem of her dazzling natural beauty, he infers that it isn't artificial when he talks of, "morning dew,". However he also trys to get her to come to bed with him as when he uses the metaphor of 'morning dew' this infers that in the Spring, beginning, of her life she is beautiful, but by the winter, end, it has frozen over into frosty icicles, i.e. her good looks are only temporary.

This use of flattery is also utilized in 'An Answer To A Love Letter', but once again it has a different function, as it is trying to make the subject feel like he is better than the poet and does not need her to satisfy him. This is portrayed when she talks of, "heavens choicest gifts," being, "bestowed in vain,". This makes him perceive that he has an almost God-like physique, when it refers to, "heavens choicest gifts,", and then tells him that they will only be wasted on her.

Unfortunately in 'An Answer To A Love Lotter' the most utilised tactic is that of Bullying, as the poet trys to make the man feel ashamed to be a man. This is revealed most noticeably when Montagu compares men to highwaymen in the latter part of the poem:

"So the brisk wits, who stop the evening coach,

Laugh at fear which follows their approach;"

The citation above describes the foolish speed at which men rush into things and ignore, or, "laugh,", at the consequences which will eventually catch them up, shown where in the poem it says, "But seiz'd by Justice,". This also infers that eventually justice will be done to men for their 'crimes' and they will be put in a metaphorical prison as everyone will know of their vulgar deeds and will never have intercourse with them again. The fact that men are being compared to highwaymen tells us that she thinks that they are vulgar and deceitful, as this is how highwaymen were thought to be by the upper class members of society.

The bullying tactics in 'To His Coy Mistress' are much more offensive than those used in 'An Answer To A Love Letter' as shown in the quote below:

" ... then worms shall try

That long preserved virginity,"

This vulgar image displays the cruel way in which her virginity will be ripped from her bones when she dies. This is meant to illustrate that it isn't her choice whether she is a virgin as it will be taken from her eventually, the only thing she actually controls is when, who to and how. This tactic is used to try and scare the subject into sleeping with the poet.

Humourous prose is another technique used in these two poetic works to try and put across the poets point of view and persuade the audience of their points. It is clearly illustrated in 'An Answer To A Love Letter' where it describes, "poor pug," being confined by a , "rough chain," when the true, "destroyer," man goes unpunished for his treachery to woman-kind in stealing their virginity from them in any way he sees fit. This is meant to display the hipocritical stance which men currently hold, as they destroy womens lives and still roam free, but when pug, "breaks, or tears a fan," he is confined to a box and chained up.

There are some elements of humour in 'To His Coy Mistress', however the poem does not include many comical lines as it is heavily based on scaring the recipient into bed and witty lines would break the mood of the piece. The only real example of humour in this poem is when Marvell declares that:

"Till the conversion of the Jews.

My vegetable love shall grow,"

This is slightly comic as all of the Jews are unlikely to ever convert and is used as a slight clich� to lighten the mood slightly and make his love seem like a joyful feature that will ebb over and fill up both their hearts with passion.

The final poetical device used to sway the readers stand on the subject is the use of engaging language, which both poems use to their full advantage. This is unsurpassably shown in 'To His Coy Mistress' when the poet talks of the:

"Amarous birds of prey,"

This is meant to engage the reader and make them think that the wild passion of young lovers is ravenous, like that of vultures or another vicious scavanger. This phrase is also meant to display the short term thinking of the poet as when a vulture has stripped a carcass of every scrap of meat that it can possibly get it dumps it and moves on to the next meal.

This last device is also used in 'An Answer To A Love Letter' where it tells us that:

"Once.. devil charm'd my mind;

To reason deaf, to observation blind;"

This informs us of the reason behind the poet's hate for men and any woman 'foolish' enough to fall in love with one. The quotation explains that; firstly the poet was once in love with a man, scornfully represented by the devil, who confessed his love for her, in a similar way that the poet in 'To His Coy Mistress' does, and then left her distraut as she was so swept up in love she didn't realise how dependant she was of his love. Next the excerpt emphasises that the poet only made the mistake of falling in love with a man once, because she has learnt her lesson.

Overall I think the two poems share many of their major factors despite their totally contrasting opinions of love and the styles in which they are written are extremely similar.