I kind of already started this series with my post about Not Waving but Drowning, so I am going to make it a recurring series where I discuss poems I like and why. It will be intermittent, however; I’m not committing to a regular schedule.
This installment is To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678). This poem was written in the 1600s, and I first came across it during my English A-level way back when.
I like this poem basically because it amuses me. The very first lines grabbed me:
Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
It carries on in a similar vein, giving essentially a list of reasons why the “mistress” of the title should get it on with the person speaking in the poem. My favourite of these reasons is this:
The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.
There’s no deep reason why I like it; it’s just fun for me to read.
