Such A Well-Put Manipulation
Posted: 21 Jan 2014, 22:05
I'd like to post some lines from Andrew Marvell, the famous poem "To His Coy Mistress." I am new here and don't know all the rules yet, so this may not get past the moderator.
The thing that cracks me up about this poem is the hyperbole. Because his coy mistress is apparently not so sure about the relationship, Marvell makes it sound like she is planning to dither until they're in their 80s. (She probably just wanted a few weeks or months to think.) It comes from the tradition of, "Look, we are all going to die, so don't waste your youth, come to bed with me." A very old line, and apparently guys have been using it for thousands of years.
The thing that makes this poem different is that in it, this very old line is so well expressed, with fun rhyming couplets and a fast rhythm that just moves you along (similar to how he wants to rush his girl along), and filled with jokes and unforgettable images.
So ... enjoy, and then tell me what you think of both the poem and the tradition.
Had we but world enough, and time
This coyness, lady, were no crime. ...
... I would
Love you ten years before the Flood,
And you should if you please refuse
Till the Conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow. ...
For lady you deserve this state,
nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity. ...
... then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity;
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew ...
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife,
Through the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
stand still, yet we will make him run.
The thing that cracks me up about this poem is the hyperbole. Because his coy mistress is apparently not so sure about the relationship, Marvell makes it sound like she is planning to dither until they're in their 80s. (She probably just wanted a few weeks or months to think.) It comes from the tradition of, "Look, we are all going to die, so don't waste your youth, come to bed with me." A very old line, and apparently guys have been using it for thousands of years.
The thing that makes this poem different is that in it, this very old line is so well expressed, with fun rhyming couplets and a fast rhythm that just moves you along (similar to how he wants to rush his girl along), and filled with jokes and unforgettable images.
So ... enjoy, and then tell me what you think of both the poem and the tradition.
Had we but world enough, and time
This coyness, lady, were no crime. ...
... I would
Love you ten years before the Flood,
And you should if you please refuse
Till the Conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow. ...
For lady you deserve this state,
nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity. ...
... then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity;
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew ...
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife,
Through the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
stand still, yet we will make him run.
I think humor is best used in poetry. I've read it in shorts and novels, but I like it best in poetry. I don't know... The rhythm makes it catchier, I think, more laughable. 
A very smart suggestion, HOLDONthere!