Affonso 1
Rayne Affonso
LITS 1001 – Introduction to Poetry
1st March 2021
The Use of Hyperbole and Irony in Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Shakespeare’s
“Sonnet 130”
The pedestalization of women as a pervasive motif in English literature originated
most notably in the 14th century through the works of Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. The
passionate and aggrandized portrayal of an unattainable woman figure became synonymous
with Petrarchan love, a trope which is characterized by a marked distance between the
admirer and his darling as well as the act of burning adoration. Blazon poetry draws on such
Petrarchan conventions as it demonstrates the use of language to “extol a woman’s physical
beauty in a fevered, religious fashion” (Betik 8). Indubitably the lyric poem “To His Coy
Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” both challenge the Petrarchan
idealization of love in their departure from blazon traditions. This is illustrated via Marvell
and Shakespeare’s employment of the poetic devices of hyperbole and irony.
In his lifetime, Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) was chiefly acknowledged for his satirist
political writings and his repute as a Parliamentarian. His lyricism only received major
critical interest and acclaim in the 19 th century, henceforth establishing him as one of the
greatest English Metaphysical poets of his time alongside contemporaries such as Donne,
Herbert, Cowley and others. This group was praised for their semantic ability “to coax new
perspective through paradoxical images, subtle argument, inventive syntax, and imagery from
art, philosophy and religion” (Elahi 47). Marvell’s poetry abounds in this delicate balance
between passion and witty reflection, and his most famous lyric poem “To His Coy Mistress”
, Affonso 2
encompasses these metaphysical conceits through a syllogistic formal pattern to convey the
universal concept of carpe diem.
Published in 1681, “To His Coy Mistress” is written in iambic tetrameter utilizing
rhyming couplets and divided into three stanzas which represent the consecutive stages of a
syllogistic argument: ‘if’, ‘but’ and ‘therefore’. The autodiegetic voice of the persona draws
on Horace’s carpe diem philosophy in an effort to convince his beloved to allow him a sexual
union. In the first stanza and the ‘if’ clause of his logical argument, the poet begins with the
metaphysical conceit of time and space imagery to crystallize the ideal but impossible vision
of their relationship as eternal. The following ‘but’ clause juxtaposes this conditional fantasy
with the harsh reality that their human existence is fleeting. In the final stanza the persuasive
tone is best deployed as the ‘therefore’ conclusion draws the logical argument to a close, and
the poet postulates that his beloved should seize the present opportunity to engage in
intercourse with him. The poem explores the ethics of courtship in the 17 th century as
determined by the Church’s doctrines of modesty and reserve. Dubrow (1995) remarks that
such Metaphysical witty variations of the Petrarchan love tradition are “best symbolized by
the oxymoron… the [metaphysical] signature trope” (254). However, it is myopic to assert
that the paradoxical imagery of Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” is the central poetic device
which ridicules said conventions. Hyperbole and irony are equally, if not more, fundamental
to Marvell’s intention of diverging from the Petrarchan script of unrequited love.
Yet, Marvell was by no means the first poet to undermine these platitudes of love.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is, to this day, universally considered as the greatest writer
of the English literary canon due to his mastery of drama and poetry. In 1609, his collection
of 154 sonnets was published, demonstrating the influence of Petrarch’s sonnet tradition
which was a hallmark of 14th century literature. Sonnets 1-126 explore themes of lust and
homoeroticism in its devoted admiration of a fair young man, whereas the following twenty-
Rayne Affonso
LITS 1001 – Introduction to Poetry
1st March 2021
The Use of Hyperbole and Irony in Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Shakespeare’s
“Sonnet 130”
The pedestalization of women as a pervasive motif in English literature originated
most notably in the 14th century through the works of Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. The
passionate and aggrandized portrayal of an unattainable woman figure became synonymous
with Petrarchan love, a trope which is characterized by a marked distance between the
admirer and his darling as well as the act of burning adoration. Blazon poetry draws on such
Petrarchan conventions as it demonstrates the use of language to “extol a woman’s physical
beauty in a fevered, religious fashion” (Betik 8). Indubitably the lyric poem “To His Coy
Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” both challenge the Petrarchan
idealization of love in their departure from blazon traditions. This is illustrated via Marvell
and Shakespeare’s employment of the poetic devices of hyperbole and irony.
In his lifetime, Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) was chiefly acknowledged for his satirist
political writings and his repute as a Parliamentarian. His lyricism only received major
critical interest and acclaim in the 19 th century, henceforth establishing him as one of the
greatest English Metaphysical poets of his time alongside contemporaries such as Donne,
Herbert, Cowley and others. This group was praised for their semantic ability “to coax new
perspective through paradoxical images, subtle argument, inventive syntax, and imagery from
art, philosophy and religion” (Elahi 47). Marvell’s poetry abounds in this delicate balance
between passion and witty reflection, and his most famous lyric poem “To His Coy Mistress”
, Affonso 2
encompasses these metaphysical conceits through a syllogistic formal pattern to convey the
universal concept of carpe diem.
Published in 1681, “To His Coy Mistress” is written in iambic tetrameter utilizing
rhyming couplets and divided into three stanzas which represent the consecutive stages of a
syllogistic argument: ‘if’, ‘but’ and ‘therefore’. The autodiegetic voice of the persona draws
on Horace’s carpe diem philosophy in an effort to convince his beloved to allow him a sexual
union. In the first stanza and the ‘if’ clause of his logical argument, the poet begins with the
metaphysical conceit of time and space imagery to crystallize the ideal but impossible vision
of their relationship as eternal. The following ‘but’ clause juxtaposes this conditional fantasy
with the harsh reality that their human existence is fleeting. In the final stanza the persuasive
tone is best deployed as the ‘therefore’ conclusion draws the logical argument to a close, and
the poet postulates that his beloved should seize the present opportunity to engage in
intercourse with him. The poem explores the ethics of courtship in the 17 th century as
determined by the Church’s doctrines of modesty and reserve. Dubrow (1995) remarks that
such Metaphysical witty variations of the Petrarchan love tradition are “best symbolized by
the oxymoron… the [metaphysical] signature trope” (254). However, it is myopic to assert
that the paradoxical imagery of Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” is the central poetic device
which ridicules said conventions. Hyperbole and irony are equally, if not more, fundamental
to Marvell’s intention of diverging from the Petrarchan script of unrequited love.
Yet, Marvell was by no means the first poet to undermine these platitudes of love.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is, to this day, universally considered as the greatest writer
of the English literary canon due to his mastery of drama and poetry. In 1609, his collection
of 154 sonnets was published, demonstrating the influence of Petrarch’s sonnet tradition
which was a hallmark of 14th century literature. Sonnets 1-126 explore themes of lust and
homoeroticism in its devoted admiration of a fair young man, whereas the following twenty-
