Metaphor and Simile. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken or written about as if it were another. A simile is a comparison using like or as. These figures of speech invite the reader to make a comparison between the two things being compared. The two “things” involved are the writer’s actual subject, the tenor of the figure of speech, and another thing to which the subject is likened, the vehicle of the figure of speech. As you read “To His Coy Mistress,” look for metaphors and similes and identify the tenor and vehicle for each one.
Image. An image is language that creates a concrete representation of an object or an experience. As you read, look for an image in line 11.
Couplet and Stanza. A couplet is two lines of verse that usually rhyme. A stanza is a group of lines in a poem.
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“To His Coy Mistress” has the whimsical quality that characterizes so much of Marvell’s poetry. The poem is written in a fairly uncomplicated style, which fits Marvell’s carpe diem theme. Lightheartedly, the speaker of the poem urges his beloved to “seize the day”—to make good use of the little time available in life by devoting that time to love. This lightheartedness is clouded by the dark shadows of passing time and even of oncoming death. Beneath the seeming lightness is a serious idea that we are left to ponder.
As you read, make a cluster chart to describe what each stanza is about. One example has been done for you.
When have you tried to persuade someone to do something?
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