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Elegy: To His Mistress Going to Bed - Coggle Diagram
Elegy: To His Mistress Going to Bed
Language
sexual innuendos
repetition of 'come'
'until I labour, I in labour lie' - chiasmus of euphemism
'is tired with standing' - visually sexual image
'far fairer world' - metaphysical ideas explain her body
'flesh upright'
'as liberally as to a midwife show'
clothing images
'off with that girdle, like heaven's zone glittering' - imperative, and allure of clothing
'unpin that spangled breast-plate'
'off with that happy busk, which I envy' - envious of its closeness to her breasts
'flow'ry meads th' hill's shadow steals' - typically romantic imagery
Religious images
'this loves hallowed temple, this soft bed' - removes sin from sex
'heaven's angels' - sex makes her angelic
'heaven like Mahommed's paradise' - knowledge of other cultures is typical for era
discovery imagery
'Oh my America, my new-found land, my Kingdom' - new world, virgin territory
'my mine of precious stones' contextual objectification
'discovering thee' - could be pun on removing clothes
'my hand is set, my seal shall be' - colonial metaphor
structure
elegy is a song of praised, enhanced with long stanza
couplets suggest enjoyment and happiness
dramatic monologue shows female subordinance
Context
Popular poetic trend in Renaissance of ‘blazons’ where the speaker would praise the woman’s body, comparing parts to beautiful objects
discoveries and the new world
Renaissance idea of microcosm – something small could stand for the whole universe – using this as an excuse to ‘study’ the woman’s body
Themes and Comparisons
playfulness: flea, Eddy
Intimacy - Love III, Sun Rising, Letter to her Husband