Themes

The main theme of the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell is the concept of carpe diem. A sub-theme is that of physical love connected with the passage of time.

Carpe diem

The main theme of the poem is carpe diem, which means “seize the day”. As you have seen, the young man is the embodiment of this saying. He wishes he could enjoy the short time he has on Earth and leave aside the constrictions and rules imposed by society.

In the young man’s mind, carpe diem is closely connected to sexual love. He invites his Lady to leave her shyness aside and join him while time still allows them. Notice that the Lady does not respond in the same way; she is shy, “coy”, which means that she does not understand the meaning of carpe diem.

Notice how carpe diem means leaving rules aside. The coyness of the Lady is a mystery: we do not know if she does not respond because of her own desire or because societal rules impose that she behaves properly. It is safe to assume that carpe diem could also mean a refusal to ...