I need help outlining the sections of the poem, "To His Coy Mistress." Outline the sections of this poem. If you were to paraphrase its argument,...

The poem in its three parts has been directed to the end of ‘carpe-Diem’ theme. Marvell revives the theme expounded by the earlier poets, - Spenser, Herrick, and the other Elizabethans. Marvell introduces the lyricism and courtly manner of the Tudor-court. There are number of metaphysical points, allusions, abrupt comparisons, far-fetched images, and all these are centered to vivify the object of love-making at blooming youth.

The opening stanza is an assumed proposition on vast time and space. If the lovers were allotted vast space and were placed in eternity, then they would have been able to pass their ‘long loves day’ by making love, remaining separated from each other. The lady-love in that case, could pick up rubies walking over the ‘Indian Ganges’ and the lover could sing his love -song as love-loran swain from the side of Humber. There are other speculations as, - how long their ‘Vegetable love’ may continue and the lover, subject to the condition of being placed in eternity could allow as vast time as the conversion of the Jews, faster than Empires or ten years before the flood. Besides these, the courtship, lover would continue by praising the other parts of the lady far more than a period of ‘thirty- thousand’ years.

The concluding stanza becomes a conclusion of the lover. And the conclusion is drawn from the first two stanzas. As life is not placed in eternity and as the lover and the lady-love would grow and die, so they should not lose a single moment of youth. For, youth is fast-fading. This idea has been decorated, with a number of images as ‘willing soul’, (transpires) ‘instant fires’, ‘amourous birds of prey’, ‘one ball’, ‘rough strife’, ‘iron gates of life’. These images are suggestive to signify the quick and violent love-making. Besides, during the love-making the lover and the lady-love would be forgetful of the effect of Time upon them .For the aesthetic delight in which they would be dipped into ecstasy, would be to them the highest bliss of the mundane existence,

“Thus though we can not make our sun

Stand still yet we make him run”