"To His Coy Mistress"

Either you have sex with me or you die. This is a very strong
statement which, when said, has to get someone's attention; and that is exactly
what Andrew Marvell intends for the reader in this poem. He wants the undivided
attention of this mistress so that he can scare her and rush her into making a
decision the way he wants and in due time. Filled with time flavored symbolism,
this carpe diem poem, "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell, exemplifies the
seize the day theme.
The cyclical, life symbolizing river, the water flowing by like time, is
the first place Marvell places the characters. And even though they are very
far apart, time still flows by for them both. As the water flows, this concept
begins to hint at the shortness of time, for them to have sex, the source of new
life. He then proceeds to claim that he could love her ten years before the
flood, something already ancient, and up to the end of the world, using the
juxtapositioning of the two vie...