I must say I was immediately enraptured by this poem and taken in by the sincerity of its voice. Andrew Marvell really knew how to reach the ladies. Whoever his "coy mistress" was had to have felt the depth of his emotions for her. The initial idea that I gleaned was that the kind of love affair that she deserved was too great for one lifetime. He wanted to give her a love through all the ages including past, present, and future. I don't think it gets much more romantic than that. The way he incorporated important world events was beautiful.
The second time I read it I felt more of a sense of urgency in his voice. It was less that he wanted to be with her forever, and more that he was urging her to make a decision. He is almost being a little pushy about it when you look into the wording. He says in the first two lines that "had we but world enough, and time,/This coyness, lady, were no crime", meaning that her shyness or playing hard to get would be pardoned if they had the time for it, but they don't. So in a round-about way he is really telling her that the way she is acting is criminal-perhaps a little harsh Marvell? The somewhat passive-aggressive tone in which he begins the poem, however, can easily be forgiven because of the next forty-four lines.
I cannot help but question his choice of wording though when we approach the stanza about time being short. Perhaps I over analyzed it but it seems as though the focus of lines 21-32 is sex with lines like "... then worms shall try/That long preserv'd virginity" and then later on with "The grave's a fine and private place, But none I think do there embrace". I have no problem with this reference, I only question his choice of referring to her honor and then his lust: "And your quaint honour turn to dust/And into ashes all my lust". To me this could almost suggest that he is eager to sleep with her because of his lust and he wishes that she would not take forever to make a decision about it. This is a long shot, but worth thinking about.
The ending is absolutely breathtaking. Who wouldn't want to look at life that way? Life is better lived when two people combine what they have ("Let us roll all our strength, and all/Our sweetness, up into one ball;) and take on struggles together ("And tear our pleasures with rough strife/Thorough the iron gates of life"). The last two lines are memorable and inspiring. We can't stop the sun, but we can make it run- I feel a hit song coming on...
