Paper Summary:

This critique of Andrew Marvel's "To his Coy Mistress" analyzes female sexuality as presented in the poem. The reviewer describes the poem as having a subversive text, which is discussed from a feminist perspective. This is seen through the tone which is at odds with conventional thought, in its disregard for the value of chastity. Quotes from the poem are used throughout the paper to back-up the reviewer's assertions.

From the Paper:

"Feminist criticism came to the foreground of American literary criticism in the 1970's this of course coincided with the Women's Liberation Movement. During the 1980s, feminist literary criticism developed and now encompasses many disciplines and styles. The one side of the feminist criticism is the examination of women writers. By examining female literature they hope to discern what women's attitudes were about the times. Most feminist criticism is characterized by close reading of the text and situating those readings in a historical context."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cuddon, J.A. The Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Penguin: New York, 2000
• Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory :A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press: New York 2000
• "Defending and Defying Petrarchan Convention." http:/members.aol.com/danieledg1/sonnets.html
• Marvell, Andrew. The Complete Poems. Penguin Classics: New York, 2005
• Showalter, Elaine. The New Feminist Criticism. Pantheon: New York, 1985

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