Woo Me!

    Ha-ha. Here in “To His Coy Mistress”, we have yet another hopeless romantic trying to woe the beautiful lady of his dreams. This is almost like “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”. How so? Well, both men are trying to woe the ladies in their lives. But who seems to do a better job, Andrew Marvell or Christopher Marlowe? Let’s see.

    Christopher Marlowe goes for the romantic approach in “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” to win his girl. Listen to this sample from the poem:

“Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields

Woods or steepy mountain yields”

    That’s sweet and all, but it seems a little too unrealistic. But Andrew Marvell aims for the realistic view. Here is his sample:

“Thy beauty shall no more be found,

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long-preserved virginity,

And your quaint honor turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust.”

    That seems nice, but he seems like he’s rushing his cutie.

    What seems to work, Romantic or realistic? I, being a female, would go for Marlowe’s wooing. It’s much sweeter and I don’t want to be rushed into love. But I will say this much, I like both poems.