Poetry Blog #2

Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” is a bit confusing. It appears to be (obvious through its title) a poem to the narrator’s lover. The poem seems endearing and romantic, yet there are lines that seem slightly humorous or out of place, such as “my vegetable love.” In addition to it seeming romantic, it also has the message of seizing the day and embracing life before death. “You, Andrew Marvell” is a poem of the sun setting and night beginning all over the world in one night. Archibald Macleish mentions many cities and their descent into night (e.g. “And Baghdad darken and the bridge / Across the silent river gone / And through Arabia the edge / Of evening widen and steal on”). Macleish alludes to a permanent end with the ending of his poem, “the shadow of the night” symbolizing death or the like. Strand’s essay encompassing both poems goes far beyond any analysis or reflection I could possibly manage. He delves into the meaning behind the punctuation I hardly paid any attention to, but when he mentioned it, the analysis illuminated my understanding. Strand also offers wise words about what poetry can be to and for us: “A poem is a place where the conditions of beyondness and withinness are made palpable, where to imagine is to feel what it is like to be. It allows us to have the life we are denied because we are too busy living. Even more paradoxically, poetry permits us to live in ourselves as if we were just out of reach of ourselves.” I particularly relate to those words. Of the poems, however, I want to say I relate to both. There’s a part of me that is in love with love, therefore I very much enjoyed “To His Coy Mistress,” as it allowed me to indulge my idealism. On the other hand, I loved the realism of “You, Andrew Marvell,” and the analysis by Strand made me like the poem even more.