The themes, language, and meaning of this poem are considered in this exposition consisting of five pages. There are five sources cited in the bibliography.
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follows: "Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime. We would sit down and think which way To walk, and pass our long loves day"
(Marvell lines 1-4). Here he begins quite innocently pontificating on the wonders of time and how fleeting it really is and also of the problem of her coyness. He goes
on to talk about the "Indian Ganges side" (line 5) and then says : "I would Love you ten years before the Flood; And you should, if you
please, refuse Till the conversion of the Jews. My vegetable love should grow Vaster than empires, and more slow. An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes, and on
thy forehead gaze; Two hundred to adore each breast, But thirty thousand to the rest; An age at least to every part, And the last age should show your heart"
(lines 7-18). Here, it is important to remember that in 1650 England, the country was just starting to explore the exotic east (Landry PG). While the author professes his
love to a woman, he begins to use biblical references. He uses these as metaphors. For example, he references the "flood" as a point of time, and the idea that
he will love her until the Jews convert is also a reference of time. It is similar to the statement "when Hell freezes over" in that it promises something forever,
using an unlikely if not impossible scenario to denote a point in time. The poem goes on: "For, lady, you deserve this state, Nor would I love at lower
rate. But at my back I always hear Times winged chariot hurrying near" (Marvell lines 19-22). Although he loves her, and she is deserving of everything she wants, he references