In his poem “To His Coy Mistress”, Andrew Marvell constructs a tough 46-line declaration: either his coy mistress answers his pleas and love, or she’ll die and be eaten by worms in her tomb without ever having loved. Thus, he tries to scare her and make her hasten into taking a decision the way he would like and in due time. Packed with typical metaphysical symbolism, conceits and images, To His Coy Mistress is certainly one of the most famous examples in English literature of the epicurean Carpe Diem (literally Seize the Day) tradition. In this poem, the author preferred the use of the four-beat line, which is rather untypical for metaphysical poets. However, more striking is his light and humorous tone, which, according to famous scholars, links him with the Cavalier poets. Yet, the application of religious images and allusions groups him with the metaphysical. For analysis, the poem can be divided into three parts. Part 1 (l. 1-20) In this first part, a young woman is the object of old Marvell’s eye. The poet tells us that his lady is of a great coyness and shyness concerning (physical) love. Thus, she keeps him waiting for an answer to his love. Maybe, the lady could have been one of those women, who use arts to gain the admiration of men merely for fun and satisfaction of vanity, without any intention to respond their feelings. Or, she doesn’t answer him simply because she doesn’t feel attracted to him. This would rather be a modern reading, for Marvell interprets her coyness as the typical shyness women showed when in contact with available men. Thus, he starts off for a metaphorical and religious claim of his long, everlasting love. He declares that he could love her ten years before the Flood till the conversion of the Jews, that is, forever and spend years and years praising thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze…and adore each breast. He’d take pleasure in this long wait if there was some hope of his supplications being fulfilled. The Ganges is an allusion of the starting era of the eastern discoveries. As the oriental beauty fascinates him, so does his lady’s and as precious as the rubies are, so is she. The ironic linked made between the Ganges and the Humber symbolises the distance between Marvell and his mistress. But the idea of water flowing by stands for the shortness of life and the transience of time. Though they are far away from each other, time passes by for both of them. Part 2 (l. 21-32) In the second part, Marvell relates what is going to happen if she doesn’t answer his love: with time, her beauty will fade. The worms shall try that long preserved virginity and your quaint honour turn into dust and so will his lust disappear as well. The metaphor Time’s winged chariot stands for death and gives a slight idea of the numerous conceits used by metaphysical poets. Here, for instance, Marvell wants to show his knowledge of ancient culture. This passage is marked by a significant grimness which is only partly alleviated by a smooth joke at the end. Part 3 (l. 33-46) Here, Marvell returns into the present and literally begs his lady not to put him off. (and while thy willing soul transpires at every pore with instant fires, now let our sport while we may…) He describes her as willing and we can guess that she agrees with him, though her vanity or moral and social scruples say no. Marvell even compares them to amorous birds of prey, which tells us that he couldn’t wait any longer for his love to be satisfied. This last part of To His Coy Mistress could be seen as a transcription of the phrase Carpe Diem into poetry. It really gives us an idea of what this expression meant to 17th century poets, that is at once our time devour, rather than languish into his slow-chapped power.