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Seduction has been the game most played through out the centuries, as males
attempt to convince and invite females into their beds. In Marvell's To His Coy
Mistress and Donne's The Flea, the speakers, propose a peccadilloes offer, which
is so cunningly backed up by a liberalistic argument and is presented to each
female when the generous request has been declined. These arguments are designed
to induce thoughts of a carnal nature. The persuasions used by each are
completely different but are structured entirely for one purpose. To corner or
trick the maiden into saying Yes. Though both arguements are supurb, Marvell's
has a nicer, refined style to it. In To His Coy Mistress and The Flea, there is
an exemplification of just how crafty men can be during the hunt. The speakers,
in both poems, makes a modest but declinable offer for sex to their maiden of
choice. And, upon rejection, each male begins a fluent yet rhetoric arguments on
why the maiden should accept his simple offer of passion. For Marvell, the
argument was that there wasn't enough time left in the world, and that the
maiden should partake in indulgence before it is too late. But at my back I
always hear/ Times winged Charriot hurrying near(lines 21-22).
He also states
the unpleasuarble thought of the worms enjoying her verginity instead of him.
Suggesting that if she continues to waste time she will die a virgin. then Worms
shall try/ that long preserv'd Virginity:(lines 27-28). Whereas Donne's argument
revolves around a metaphorical flea. Which as claimed by the speaker, represents
his union with the maiden in matrimony, since the flea has taken blood from them
both.It suck'd me first and now sucks thee/And in this flea our two bloods
mingled be(lines 3-4). And, since their bloods have already mingled together,
intercourse with him wouldn't be a sin and no honor would be lost if she yields
to him.Though know'st that this cannot be said/A sin nor shame nor loss of
maidenhood: (lines 5-6) Though however similar the gist of the poems might be,
the art of seduction used by each speaker is quite different. The speaker in To
His Coy Mistress seems to change his tone of persuasion rapidly from stanza to
stanza. At first he is sweet, comming across as a gentleman and overstating how
many ages he would spent on a single part of her anatomy A hundred years should
go to praise/Thine Eyes..../Two hundred to adore each breast (lines14-15).
Then
he dramatically changes to say that the worms will take her in her grave and
that she will loose her beauty and die. In The Flea, the speaker tries to
convince the maiden that they are one, since the flea has sucked both their
blood and if she were to kill the flea, she would commit three sins by taking
three lives, refering to his, hers, and the flea.And sacrilege three sins in
killing three(line18). This speaker is however quick on his feet and very slick.
The maiden kills the flea, proving his convivtions to be false. He responds
however, by telling her that she suffers from false fears, because if she looses
her virginity to him, she still has her honor. Just so much honor when thou
yield'st to me/Will waste as this fleas death took life from thee(lines 26-27).
These two unique poems containing their differences but over all more
similarities are entertaining pieces for any reader to view and listen to the
cunning speaker attempting to get his maiden.
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