A Formalist Reading of Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”

‘if…but…therefore’ as well.

Now, the structural elements of the poem might include features of lines, couplets, strophes, stanza pattern, rhyme scheme and rhythm- the essential aspects of Formalism. Stylistically, here the meaning is concentrated in lines and the idea is compressed in few words. Besides, the manner of writing is epigrammatic:

              “The grave’s a fine and private place

              But none I think do there embrace.” (31-32)

    As for rhyme scheme, the poem is in iambic tetrameter with 8 syllables in per line. Each foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Though the rhyme schemes follow a simple couplet pattern like aa, bb, cc and so on, two couplets use slant to irregular rhyme, not simply to vary the monotonous pattern but to reinforce the poem’s theme. For example, lines 27 and 28 represent irregularity: “try/virginity”. It suggests that conventional virtue of virginity is actually an empty, hollow ideal based on a notion that postponing pleasure is better than enjoying it. Again, the apocalyptic vista rhymes are so neatly with the lady’s scruple (“Jews’/ ‘refuse’) that the poem’s wide disproportions are made to seem preposterous.

Then, the variation from conventional rhythm also suggests that we should avoid the strict charge of conventional morality. The poet uses pauses and enjambment (running one line into the next without a pause) to break up neat pattern that the couplet rhyme scheme would impose. And, the irregularity of the poem’s rhythm depicts the natural unsystematic nature of spontaneous thought; while the sudden appearance of a regular, stopped couplet suggests a shift to structural, logical thought-

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