Explore Themes in 'To His Coy Mistress' by Deryn Rees-Jones

Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English Choose a task From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Choose a task based on the poem. Activity A Activity B Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity C Activity D Activity E Activity F Activity E Activity F Activity G Activity H Activity G Activity H Glossary 1 Glossary 2 Glossary 1 Glossary 2

Activity A Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu What impression does Marvell give of the woman in To His Coy Mistress ? To His Coy Mistress Is she presented as willing or unwilling? http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173954

Activity B Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu Including some evidence from Marvell s poem, why might the woman in From his Coy Mistress say: I think I will become a nun ? Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. From his Coy Mistress To His Coy Mistress http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe m/173954 I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . What behaviour by the man in Marvell s poem might tempt her to become a nun? What does the word purge imply about her feelings towards men on Some days ? One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth Why might she kneel and pray and chant a lot ? the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. And hope my body s still the temple that you d come upon, by chance, to excavate, a hundred years from now, burn incense in, and dance and sing, oh, yes and weeping, worship in.

Activity C Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu What do the book titles imply about the woman s state of mind in her potential vocation as a nun? Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. From his Coy Mistress Why is she thinking about flirtation? I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . Why might love and sin appear in the same title?

Activity D Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu What do stanza 3 and the first line of stanza 4 reveal about the woman s thoughts and feelings? From his Coy Mistress What kind of woman does the poem suggest she thought she was? What contrast is suggested between these five lines and stanzas 1 and 2? One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. How many times is the pronoun I repeated in these five lines, and what effect does this have?

Activity E Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu In Marvell s poem, the man imagines a future with a marble vault where the body of his mistress decays. In Deryn Rees-Jones s poem, how does the woman imagine her own body in one hundred years time? Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. From his Coy Mistress To His Coy Mistress http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe m/173954 I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . Consider the words shaded in yellow. Click to show shading. How does the woman hope the man will respond? What contrasting ideas are linked by alliteration? One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. And hope my body s still the temple that you d come upon, by chance, to excavate, a hundred years from now, burn incense in, and dance and sing, oh, yes and weeping, worship in.

Activity F Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu Track the verb tense or the time referred to in each stanza, explaining the poet s choice in each case. Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. From his Coy Mistress I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . Consider the words shaded in blue. Click to show shading. One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. And hope my body s still the temple that you d come upon, by chance, to excavate, a hundred years from now, burn incense in, and dance and sing, oh, yes and weeping, worship in.

Activity G Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu How far does the woman presented in Marvell s poem match the woman presented in Deryn Rees-Jones s poem? Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. From his Coy Mistress To His Coy Mistress http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe m/173954 I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . In what ways is the woman presented in the modern poem similar to the other poem? In what ways is the woman presented in the modern poem different to the other poem? One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. And hope my body s still the temple that you d come upon, by chance, to excavate, a hundred years from now, burn incense in, and dance and sing, oh, yes and weeping, worship in.

Activity H Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu How far does the poet s reading of this poem, and comments on it, affect your understanding? Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. From his Coy Mistress I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . Listen carefully to the way the poem is read the use of intonation, tone of voice, suggestions of humour, timing. One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. And hope my body s still the temple that you d come upon, by chance, to excavate, a hundred years from now, burn incense in, and dance and sing, oh, yes and weeping, worship in.

Glossary 1 Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Click on the highlighted words to show their meaning Menu Menu From his Coy Mistress shy, modest Some days I think I will become a nun, book in a convent miles away, cut off my hair, and dress in black wanting to purge myself of men. rid (the soul or body) of unwholesome thoughts etc. I d kneel and pray and chant a lot, lie in a narrow bed, devising titles of unwritten books: A Semiotics of Flirtation. Love: Some Concepts of the Verb To Sin . inventing, thinking up playful behaviour that indicates a romantic interest in someone human communication to act in a way that breaks a moral code or religious teaching One thing s for sure. By wanting you, I m not the woman that I think I am. I cannot eat or sleep at all, just think about your lovely mouth feeling a need or desire for strange and disturbing or frightening the eerie moonlight and the Northern seas. And hope my body s still the temple that you d come upon, by chance, to excavate, a hundred years from now, a building in which people worship burn incense in, and dance and sing, oh, yes and weeping, worship in.

Glossary 2 Welsh writing in English Welsh writing in English From his Coy Mistress Deryn Rees-Jones Menu Menu To His Coy Mistress Glossary mistress coyness Time s wing d chariot = time drives a racing chariot which has wings for extra speed yonder = in that place or over there vault = an underground chamber used as a burial tomb quaint = old-fashioned, unusual hue = colour, tint or shade transpires = releases/breathes out amorous = refers to love, especially sexual love devour = eat up greedily/use up greedily languish = spend time in hardship or discomfort slow-chapped = slow jawed (slowly devouring time) = a female loved by a man (in Marvell's time) = modesty, shyness intertextuality = the interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; the way that similar or related texts influence, reflect, or differ from each other: the intertextuality between two novels with the same setting Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intertextuality