1. Literary Criticism Georgia Perimeter College

2. Introduction n Purpose: to discuss many ways to enjoy the fullness of any literary piece through “To His Coy Mistress” Approaches n Textual n Formalistic n Genre n Historical/Biographical n Moral/Philosophical n Mythological and Archetypal

3. Textual Approach n Textual Analysis - the science of finding errors in a text and the art of removing them. n Text and “Coy Mistress” u Words Archaic F transpires - breathes forth F instant - now present F both nearer the latin original than the 21st century meaning u Word “Mistakes” F glow; glew; dew F 1st edition had glew

4. Formalistic Approach (Background) n Focus - the autonomous work itself; that is, the author’s life and times, and sociological, psychological, economic, political implications are extraneous. n Formalist’s Questions: What is the Literary work? What is its shape? What is its effect? How are the effects and forms achieved?

5. Formalistic Background II n Answers: all answers come from the text n All is unified in tone, character, etc. - form. “Form alone takes, and holds, and preserves, substance - saves it from the welter of helpless verbiage that we swim in, as in a sea of tasteless pudding. n Content (idea) vs “achieved content”: art; the difference between the two is technique - or form. Form would include imagery, rhythm, character development, etc..

6. Formalistic Application n Title - who is speaking to whom (mistress) n Key Words - Preoccupation with the passing of time; brevity of youth; need to experience young love’s delights in their proper time n Rhetorical features, section I: conditions and hyperbole u had we but …; Ganges and Humber; flood and conversion of the Jews; years adoring “her parts”

7. Formal. App. II n Rhetorical features, section II: Tone shift from exaggerated praise and love declarations to death’s certainty and flesh’s decay. u Adds Understatement for emphasis; u Honesty makes her unrealistic coyness foolish, illogical, perhaps perverse u “Therefore” to emphasize that this is a argument

8. Genre Approach n Genre Considerations u Type F Lyric Short Charm; polish; ease of expression Imagination, wit Sophistication u Level of Statement (“Paraphrasable content”) : a lyrical proposition

9. Historical Biographical Approach( Background) n Historical-Biographical: General u Life and Times of the Author or the Characters of the Work F Piers Plowman - corruption in 14th century English F The Grapes of Wrath – the depression F Oliver Twist – industrialization and child labor F To Kill a Mockingbird – Jim Crowe laws and practices

10. Hist/Bio Application n Historical -Biographical and “Coy Mistress” u Marvell’s life and times and poem’s: logical argument; tone F Logic - Son of Anglican priest; classically educated; a Parliamentarian; admirer of Cromwell; writer of political satires F Tone - not pedantic, though. Courtly love, so she is an elevated goddess, so like one she is capricious and he must humor her (from the flood to the conversion of the Jews). But by the end he has stripped off modesty and divinity (1) her “willing soul”breathes forth passion; (2) kinesthetic ecstasy: tear our pleasures with rough strife/Through the iron gates of life (the virginal body.)

11. Hist & Bio. Application II n Historical, religious, classical, metaphysical allusions u Flood; Conversion of the Jews; Time winged chariot - the sun, moon, night, and time- and their course - tone still pleasing/humorous u Second stanza -images crude; Last stanza not playful at all “slow-chapped (slow-jawed) power: alludes to the cannibalism of time (Kronos) u Make the sun run: Joshua ; Phaeton(son of the sun) and his chariot ride; Zeus and Alcmeme u Breasts and “the rest”; lovers rolled up into a ball; amorous birds of prey; -all metaphysical revolt against too sweet Elizabethan love poetry.

12. Moral-Philosophical: Backgound n Function to teach morality and probe philosophical issues The Stranger- existentialism; Tom Jones - Christianity; Essay on Man - reason; The Scarlet Letter - secret sin Moral/Philo. Application n Carpe diem: seize the day; eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die. n Often called hedonistic stance u Sex - essentially a pagan view of sex as physical dalliance (“Now let us sport while we may”) that derives pleasure. A Cavalier view, not a Puritan one n Pessimism - perhaps a function of 17th century developments that led to a loss of a philosophical or moral view of life?

13. Moral and Philo. Application 2 u Francis Bacon’s induction and scientific truth u Copernican theory - removed man and earth as the center of the universe u Thomas Hobbes - materialism and man as animal n Is the speaker honestly reflecting his view of life - pessimism - and advocating sensuality as the only way make the best of a bad situation - or is he just “typical male”?t