Comparing Andrew Marvell to his demure mistress and Robert Herrick to virgins, to gain a lot of time Since the beginning of time, love has played a role huge among humans. Everyone feels the need to love and be loved. Some attempt to satisfy this desire with activities and possessions that do not satisfy, with activities they should not participate in, and possessions they should not own. In Andrew Marvell's poem, “To His Coy Mistress,” the speaker encounters an emotion that some would call love but which better fits the definition of lust for a woman. In contrast, those who speak of Robert Herrick's poem, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” urge virgins to marry, to make a lasting commitment in which love plays a vital role. Comparing these poems reveals the differences between love and lust. Despite contrasting depictions of love and lust, both poets portray the underlying theme of carpe diem – “seize the day” – using the sun to show the brevity of each individual person's time on earth and using social standards to uphold their arguments. Although some might argue that the speaker of Marvell's poem loves his lover, he appears to feel no emotion other than lust. The speaker simply mentions the word “love” three times, all in the first stanza. Nowhere does the speaker connect this so-called love with his girlfriend's personality traits, but always with her physical appearance. The speaker explains that if he had all the time in the world, he would worship for “an age at least” all the parts of his body and “the last age should show your heart” (17-18). The speaker's overemphasis on his girlfriend's body instead of focusing on her personality and heart – the most important traits – ......middle of paper ......ilizes similar arguments in an attempt to persuade the person or people to whom they speak. Specifically, both speakers convey the concept of carpe diem through the analogy of the sun. However, they approach their situation in a distorted way. Although they have the opportunity to focus on true love, they fail to seize this opportunity. Instead, speakers focus on society's definition of love, namely beauty, requiring a response based on a woman's superficial, outward appearance. Works Cited Herrick, Robert. "To the Virgins, to gain a lot of time." Literature An introduction to critical reading. Lee A. Jacobus. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. Marvell, Andrew. "To His Coy Mistress" and other poems. New York: DoverPublications, Inc., 1997. New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Available at http://www.lockman.org