Comparing 'Holy Sonnet 10 And To His Coy Mistress'

Cavalier poetry is centered on carefree pleasure and living in the moment whereas roundhead poetry is more centered on religion and eternal life. Andrew Marvell, as well as other cavaliers, often spent their time indulging in worldly pleasures. John Donne was a clergymen, so he spent most of his time in the church and with other clergymen, meaning how he spends his time is different from how Andrew Marvell and the cavaliers spend theirs. In John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet 10” and Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress," time and how little time we have ourselves, is the main theme, but how we spend our time is different. Throughout both poems, the importance of time and how we spend our time is stressed, but how the two poets spend their time differs. Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” mentions how quickly time passes multiple times, “Had we but world enough, and time” (L1). Andrew Marvell urges the reader of the poem and others to live while they are young.
Marvell and the cavaliers want to live while they are young; the cavaliers want to enjoy the splendors of life while they can instead of waiting for death. The main theme of “To His Coy Mistress” is that we do not have much time on Earth, so why should we waste our time by sitting around and waiting on death when we could be enjoying all that life has to offer. Though this poem is written to persuade a lady to lay with Marvell, it still applies to our lives today. Roundhead poetry and cavalier poetry is different in how each poet tells us to spend our