Comparing Shakespeare and Marvell, what effect does time have on love?

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To Each His Own Time

An Analysis of Time in Andrew Marvell 's To His Coy Mistress

and William Shakespeare 's Sonnet 116

I . Introduction

Andrew Marvell 's To His Coy Mistress ' and William Shakespeare 's Sonnet 116 ' are both celebrated poems of love and expression , each avowing the author 's sentiments regarding the relevance of time to this utmost emotion . However , while both poems discuss time as an important element of love , they operate in extreme concepts of time and its role

p Known for his lyrical yet satiric poetry and his use of metaphysics Andrew Marvell 's career flourished in the 1650s , and further took on responsibilities and duties of political service . William Shakespeare on the other hand , is acknowledged as England 's most profound and prolific writer , authoring numerous iconic plays and poems in the late 1500s

II . Coy vs . Cloy : Deciphering Marvell 's Time

The poem starts with Had we but world enough , and time /This coyness lady , were no crime ' At once , in the first line , Marvell sets the clock in reference to a possibility he immediately gives the beloved - presumably a young , coy woman , prone to exhibiting rehearsed shyness as a prelude to impending romance - his seemingly impatient opinion on the wastage of time . As it was common during the poet 's era of England in the mid-1600s for women to employ indifference to gain male admiration the beloved 's behavior of extending the process of courtship appears to be...