SONNET 116 AND TO HIS COY MISTRESS

Comparison of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 and Marvell's To His Coy Mistress

Comparison of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 and Marvell's To His Coy Mistress

Introduction

The sonnet 116 titled 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds' was written by William Shakespeare during the late 16th century. It was a time of liberty and freedom of literature and theatre. However the poem 'To His Coy Mistress' was written by Andrew Marvell during the mid 17th century and was not published as the content of the poem was considered as taboo and unfavourable to the puritan, who were in power during that time.

The themes of both the poems are similar and based on love yet the approach of both the poets on the subject is different. Shakespeare sonnet used the traditional sonnet style and is based on true love while Marvell's poem deals with satirical Carpe Diem love style and is based on lust rather than true love. Both Shakespeare and Marvell use the same way to explore the love attitudes and both of them talk about love based on the concept of time. In Shakespeare's sonnet, it is portrayed that love is eternal and there is no significance of time in true love. Marvell explains that time should not be wasted and whatever time is left should be used in love. However, the common thing that both of the poets talk about is passionate love and time.

The Shakespeare's sonnet talks about the eternal love which is not distorted by the time. The basic concept of the sonnet is that true love lasts forever and no matter how much time passes by the true love never alters. The poem by Marvell talks more about lust than true love. It basically portrays the approach of a young lover who is eager to lure his mistress into bed. The poem is the parody of Carpe Diem poetries. The main concept of this poem is lust and that the time is short and they should make the most of the time which is left (Shakespeare, 1986, 47).

Purpose of the poems

The main concept of both of the poems is time and love. In the sonnet 116 titled 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds', the main purpose is the true nature of love irrespective of time and change. The poet used different devices and poetic elements skilfully, to emphasize on the quality of true love. He expertly used rhythmic schemes, personification and imagery throughout the poem to explain the depth of true love and how even undergoing continuous change, a man's true love remains constant (Shakespeare, 1986, 47).

The poem 'To His Coy Mistress', the main purpose of the poem is also love but it focuses more on lust. The speaker, Andrew Marvell himself possibly, wants to lure the woman in an act of love and portrays that the time is very short. However the woman appears to be resistant. The poet has also used different poetic elements throughout the ...