A Comparative Study of A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning and To His Coy Mistress

1.Introduction

A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning is created by John Donne while To His Coy Mistress is created by Andrew Marvell， both of which are the representative and most well-known poem of these two poets. John Donne and Andrew Marvell are mainly living in 17 centuries. Both of them are metaphysical poets and have a great success. Both of the poems are love lyrics created in the period of Renaissance and the authors tries to express their sincere love towards their lovers. Thus， this essay aims to make a comparative study of these two poems in terms of the building of the structure and type， the conveying of themes as well as the application of images.

2.Different form and structure

Firstly in the aspect of form and structure， these two poems differ from each other. In A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning， Donne constructs the poem in 9 quatrains， using a 4-beat， iambic tetrameter line. The rhyme scheme for each stanza is an alternating ABAB. This form is uncharacteristic for Donne， who often invented elaborate stanza forms and rhyme schemes. On the other hand， To His Coy Mistress have three stanzas in all with 20， 12 and 14 lines in each stanza. It is an iambic tetrameter couplet.

A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning takes the sentimental form， a speech or a poem of farewell， which often carries some uncertainty about the future. Though the title suggests a dark theme， it actually is a love poem， and as such it is a fine example of 16th-century Metaphysical wit. While the tone of To His Coy Mistress is full of sweetness and it takes the form of a dramatic monologue， which pretty much means what it sounds like. The speaker of the poem does all the talking， which makes this a monologue， a speech by a single character. But， because he isn’t just talking to himself， but to another fictional character， the mistress， it’s \"dramatic\" – hence the term \"dramatic monologue.\" A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning utilizes strange metrical patterns overlaid jarringly on regular rhyme schemes and each four-line stanza is quite unadorned. In To His Coy Mistress， however， The first stanza （“Had we”） is ten couplets long， the second （“But…”） six， and the third （“Now therefore…”） seven. The logical form of the poem runs： if （had）…but…therefore…？

3.Similar themes with different aspects

Though both poems discuss about love， In A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning emphasizes the specialness of the love and tries to persuade his wife not to mourn for his leaving while To His Coy Mistress stresses more on the thesis of carpe diem.

In A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning， the author defines the special love between himself and his beloved， separating it from the ordinary affair of ordinary people. He describes their love as holy， huge， mysterious， refined， one in soul and pursuing perfection. He tries to persuade his beloved their love is different from worldly love which relies on the physical sense. The love between his beloved and his love cannot be removed by physical distance because of their soul oneness.

In To His Coy Mistress， the author attempts to persuade the lady to grasp the short life and enjoy the love with him. He firstly states his long-term and lasting woo for the lady in the hypothesis of widespread time and space， then depicts the reality of flying time and the terrible scenes. Consequently， the poet comes to his point of enjoying love at this moment， which follows a logical connection of argument.

4.Similar conceits and wits in different images

Both authors belong to the metaphysical poets full of elaborate conceits and astounding wits. A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning constantly uses witty conceits to show different properties of their love and ultimately achieves the emotion peak of the poem. To His Coy Mistress applies images contrast in the situation of eternal time and limited time to emphasize the theme of seizing the time.

In A Valediction： Forbidding Mourning， the poet applies a series of conceits such as the image of flood， earthquake， gold and finally the simile of compass to reach the climax of emotion， emphasizing his love for his beloved. He compares his beloved’s tears to the flood and her tears could cause earthquake. It emphasizes the love between them could influence the whole universe and cannot be understood by ordinary people. He compares their love with the gold to thinness beat to their oneness of soul. Also， he compares himself and his beloved to the two foots of compass to show their loyalty to each other and the perfection of love.

In To His Coy Mistress， the author applies the image of Indian Ganges’side， the Flood and the conversion of the Jews to show his love cannot be calculated with the time and space. The vegetable love shows his determination of loving her a little bit more every day. The image of winged chariot， desert， dust and ashes to show time flies fast and the world changes quickly. Also， the use of birds， sun and iron gates to indicate they ignore the worldly limits of the life， seize the moment and enjoy the pleasure of love freely.