To His Coy Mistress
To His Coy Mistress is a
poem by
Andrew Marvell on the ancient
carpe diem ('sieze the day') theme. Stripped of all poetry, the three-part message would be thus:
- If we were going to live forever you could put me off forever and I could take as long as you like to get to know you.
- But time goes by and we will die, and you cannot make love when you are dead.
- So let's go fast for as long as we are still alive.
"To His Coy Mistress" is referenced in
T. S. Eliot's poem "
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", and "The Garden".
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