The soul is unhappy with the physical pain it has to endure while the body is unhappy with the emotional pain. The body acts like a prison, which keeps the soul locked up; however, the body cannot escape the tyrannical views of the soul. Neither the soul or body can obtain freedom, so they are suffering.

The soul wants to welcome death because then it can welcome consciousness. The body, on the other hand, is more concerned with the present moment because it is alive. The soul has a new beginning with its death while the body welcomes the end with death.

Andrew Marvell uses the body and soul to describe two contradicting arguments that's end result is that there is no need for the other. The body believes the soul controls while the soul believes the body entraps it. The body and soul don't get along, which suggests that emotional pain and physical pain tend to be opposites, yet it is odd because despite the fact that these two entities are hindered by one another, they combine and build off each other to make mortal beings, which is an odd contradiction.