English Formal Essay #2

Literature in its purest form has the remarkable ability to transport us to the time and place that it is set. It can even give us insight into the time period the literary artists lived in and how it affected their works. Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” set in the 1650’s, has an overarching theme of mortality, in that one must make the most of what little time they have alive. Similarly, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind,” set in the early 1800’s, has a mortality theme, although he conveys that death is natural for rebirth into new life. Death not only occurs in the form of humans and nature, but in cultures and tradition as well. Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a great example of the death of tradition, exemplifying a mother trying to instill her traditions unto her daughter, who is slowly assimilating to other, more modern standards. Additionally, in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” sending Dee away for an education estranged her from her cultural roots, ultimately resulting in the death of her family’s culture. Therefore, death is a prevalent theme in literature throughout time periods as it is a natural, inevitable occurrence in both nature and culture. In “To His Coy Mistress,” the narrator suggests to his mistress that death is nothing to fear. To the narrator, death is inevitable, so he and his mistress should live their lives out together in completeness before it is too late. He explains to his mistress that “...Time’s winged chariot [is] hurrying near; / And yonder all before us lie / Deserts of vast eternity” (Marvell 22-24). By personifying time, he shows its passing and how it results in death. Marvell, born in the 17th century, was one of the most prevalent metaphysical poets of his time. Metaphysical poetry was characterized by “bold and ingenious conceits, incongruous imagery, complexity and subtlety of thought” (“Metaphysical Poetry”). In other words he wrote about what he thought about love and religion in a paradoxical manner.

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