To His Coy Mistress

TO HIS COY MISTRESS BY ANDREW MARVELL We all have the choice either to take advantage of time or allow time to take advantage of us. This is the idea presented in To His Coy Mistress, a poem by Andrew Marvell. In this poem, the opportunity of living life to the fullest or choosing to squander your time is supplied through symbolism. Symbolism is conveying impressions by suggestion rather than by direct statements. Using symbolism …

…of you, the choice is yours. “And tear our pleasures with rough strife / Thorough the iron gates of life” is clearly a motivational statement. It is meant to encourage living life to the fullest. Through the symbolism of a lover entreating his mistress we see just how precious our moments are. The symbolism of the poem conveys an urgency to act now before the opportunity to live our lives to their maximum capacity runs out.