Tone reflects the speaker's attitude toward the subject of work. In "To His Coy Mistress," Marvell uses a three-part structure, each consisting of different tones in order to convey the theme of carpe diem. In lines 1-20, Marvell speaks to his mistress in the condition: "Two hundred to adore each breast, But thirty thousand to the rest." Marvell employs a high-spirited tone, which expresses the magnitude of his love for his mistress, without considering the withering effects of time. In a perfect, timeless world, he could afford to be patient; however, lines 21-32 play a pivotal role in the poem, as these lines serve as a reality check for the mistress. Although he states that he would be patient in their relationship in a timeless world, Marvell uses the second part to emphasize the constraints of time: "The beauty shall no more be found." Marvel, using a rather ominous tone, stresses that, unlike his conditional world where beauty would be preserved, their youth, beauty, and fertility cannot be taken for granted. In the final part, lines 33-46, Marvell employs an urgent tone. In the previous part, he had made his claim that the boundaries of time were actual; however, in the third part, he takes what he said in the second part and says that they should make the best of their relationship before time runs out. While lines 33-46 is the only part that concretely stresses "carpe diem," both of the other parts have just as important a role in demonstrating it. Lines 1-32 serve as a introduction to the final part, as they serve as a build-up for his theme of carpe-diem that is fully expressed in the last 14 lines.
No comments:
Post a Comment