Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

To His Coy Mistress Before paraphrasing the poem itself, I must first start with the title. The speaker is telling of his unending love to his “coy mistress.” But at the time this poem was written, in the late 17th century, a mistress was not the lover of a married man. Instead, it refers to a woman who is loved and courted. Coy is defined as shy and modest. The speaker is telling his coy mistress that if there were enough time in the world, her shyness would be no crime because time would not be a factor. They could sit down and pass the days just loving each other. He (the speaker) would sit by the river Indian Ganges, and write love songs about her. He would love her for eternity, and she could always refuse him, because without time as a factor, there would be no rush. His love for her would grow slowly, slower than empires grow. He would pr