To His Coy Mistress To His Coy Mistress "To His Coy Mistress" is a metaphysical poem written by the English author and politician Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) either during or just before the English Interregnum (1649–60). It was published posthumously in 1681. This poem is considered one of Marvell's finest and is possibly the best recognized carpe diem poem in English. Although the date of its composition is not known, it may have been written in the early 1650s. At that time, Marvell was serving as a tutor to the daughter of the retired commander of the New Model Army, Sir Thomas Fairfax. The speaker
Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets Swift”, as well as the hostile characterisation of the Metaphysical style in the life of Abraham Cowley. Nor can Johnson’s prejudices be palliated by the observation in "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature" that “he was much more interested in the man than in that part of him which is the author ...He claimed for it no exclusive privileges, nor held that the poet was a man apart to be measured by standards inapplicable to other men.” The poets included are: Although the quality of Johnson’s writing has guaranteed the survival of his last considerable undertaking, its critical