Carpe Diem (Question 6)

Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" is a rather odd and aggressive poem. In it, the speaker is urging his lover to abandon her "long-preserved virginity" and give in to her carnal desires. Yet the central purpose of the poem is not, in fact, to encourage sexual freedom. The speaker's logic applies not only to sexual activity, but life activity in general. The speaker urges his lover to act in the present, "while the youthful hue/ Sits on thy skin like morning dew,/ And while thy willing soul transpires/ At every pore with instant fires". The focus of the poem is not on the act of sexual intercourse, but on the fact that life is short, with "[t]ime's winged chariot hurrying near". By focusing on the lack of time that humans have in life, the poet indicates that his point is not a statement on morality, as the context of the poem indicates. Instead, the point makes his point that life is too short to live timidly. According to the poet, one must live life as fully as one can at every moment, for one never knows how long their life will last.