Perspectives
It is very important for you to be able to put the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell into perspective, so you can better understand the meaning of the poem and the context in which it was written.
Literary context: “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” by Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was Shakespeare’s contemporary. He was an English poet and play writer, his plays being very popular in his time. “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” is a love poem. The poet invites the loved one to join him, while he promises her treasures and beauties provided by nature. He expresses his desire that they would eventually live together in harmony.
In terms of structure, the two poems are quite different. While Marvell’s poem has three stanzas, Marlowe’s poem is comprised of six stanzas, each representing a new message of the poet to his loved one. The poem is also a pastoral, so we can notice an abundance of images related to the natural, simple world.
“Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.” (ll. 1-4)
In terms of setting, Marlowe’s poem demonstrates the specific characteristics of a pastoral. Nature and people, as portrayed in pastoral poetry, are most of the times idyllic and ideal, pure and uncorrupted.
The tone of Marlowe’s poem is somehow similar to that of Marvell’s poem. The imperatives used by Marlowe suggest the same urge of the young man to be joined by the loved one. The urgent desire may also be connected with physical love, although this is not clearly expressed. For example, in the first stanza, the word “pleasures” may be interpreted in different ways:
“Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.” (ll. 1-4)
The word “pleasures” may refer to the entire landscape that will be at the couple’s feet, but it may also be a reference to the physical side of love. The same goes for the third stanza: "And I will make thee beds of roses” (l. 11)
The bed of rose...
