Literary Review

Literary Analysis of the Male Character

Relationships are often the foundation of great literature. The classic struggle between men and women has intrigued readers for centuries. Three classic works of literary art include: “To His Coy Mistress”, by Andrew Marvell written in 1681, (Stanford 595)“The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne written in 1843, (Stanford 1034) and “Hills like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway written in 1927, (Stanford 839)each of these three pieces by, Marvell, Hawthorne and Hemingway focus on the relationships between men and women. Each piece uses rhetoric and simile to convey a message, some use sex, others pose the dilemma of making life changing decisions.

In “To His Coy Mistress”, Marvell uses rhetoric and simile to describe the conflict between the characters in this poem. The male character is attempting to gain the confidence of the female character. Neither character is given a name or specific description. In the first stanza, Marvell uses a comedic way of making his point. Extravagant rhetoric is used such as an exotic location (Gregerson) as mentioned in line five, “Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side” (Stanford 595) this is of course referring to the Ganges River in India. An expansive amount of time is also used to describe how long he will love this woman as described in lines, 13-16,

“A hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;” (Stanford 596)

The second stanza takes a more serious approach than the first; Marvell basically says that we have to have sex before we die. Marvell says it’s going to be too late soon, “But at my back I always hear, Time’s winged chariot hurrying near” (Stanford 596) Marvell goes on to say that if we don’t have sex then you will die a virgin and the worms will take your virginity, “My echoing song’ then worms shall try, That long-preserved virginity,”. (Stanford 596) This takes a...