Andrew Marvell breaks the mold of Petrarchan lovers with “To
His Coy Mistress”. Petrarchan lovers are gluttons for disappointment, but the
speaker of “To His Coy Mistress” is not satisfied with merely letting his lust
turn to ashes. He is proactive and tells his coy mistress that they should
consummate the relationship “while the youthful hue / Sits on [her] skin”
(33-34). He is not lamenting like the Petrarchan lover because the time doesn’t
exist to “think which way / To walk, and pass [their] long love’s day” (3-4);
rather, he provides the alternative that “like amorous birds of prey” (48) they
should “tear … pleasures with rough strive / Thorough the iron gates of life”
(43-44).
This poem is reminiscent of John Donne’s “The Flea” due to
the proactive speaker and the defiance of the Petrarchan stereotype. I can
imagine Marvell’s and Donne’s speakers getting together to strategize the best
methods to convince their women that sex is the answer. Life is too short. It’s
not that big of a deal. Maybe she’ll go for the witty guy or maybe she’ll go
for the assertive guy. Marvell’s speaker may have a slight edge on Donne’s,
however. At least he didn’t compare his mistress to a blood-sucking flea.
Marvell and Donne both have an interesting way of describing sex. As conservative as religious people were about women having sex, the men sure did not have a problem talking about it and trying to convince women to do it. Then women would get in trouble for having sex. It is quite a double edged sword.
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