"To His Coy Mistress"

In Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress,” I was kind of confused. I re-read the poem a couple times, but it seemed when I thought I understood the poem, I would re-read to check and get confused all over again. Maybe I have been trying too hard to understand the poem. The lines, “To walk, and pass our long love’s day./ Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side.” (Lines 4-5) was kind of confusing to me. I didn’t really understand it that well. I am also confused at the end of the poem. “Thus, though we cannot make our sun/ Stand still, yet we will make him run.” (45-46) “Thy beauty shall no more be found,/ Nor in thy marble vault shall sound” (25-26) seems to me that someone dies because when I read the “marble vault” I thought of a casket, which is sometimes can be made of marble and acts like a vault. But then when I re-read the poem and got to that part I think I misinterpreted the meaning.

Stop all the Clocks, Cut off the Telephone

This was kind of a sad poem. I understood it as a woman who has just lost her husband or lover. If I am understanding the poem correctly according to this line "For nothing now can ever come to any good" to me is stating that life for her will no longer be happy. I believe this woman is stating that this now deceased loved one was everything to her as Auden writes, "He was my North, my South, my East, and West" he seemed to be her everything. This woman appears to be in mourning over someone she loved deeply. It seems she believes time and everyone should stop and pay respects to this man with silence. The saddest line I think is "Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun..." she does not seem to think she will find joy again.

JenN