Poetry Essay Intro

What is Love? Is it the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired, or is it the soul’s realization of its counterpoint along with another’s. Whatever it is the world may never know, but we probably can draw a good conclusion of it after reading “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvel and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot.  “To His Coy Mistress” presents a familiar theme carpe diem meaning seize the day. The poem is basically a young man’s declarations of love for a young lady; the lady is playfully hesitant, artfully modest. But dallying will not do, he says, for youth passes quickly. He and the lady must take advantage of the moment. Thus it is in seizing the time that one is given that life has meaning and that where these two poems differ in the sense of their speakers.