To His Coy Mistress

24 Pages·2008·0.95 MB·English

SYDNEY STUDIES
The Alchemical Code in Marvell's
'To His Coy Mistress'
LYNDYABRAHAM
Amongstthemoststrikingallusionsin'TohisCoyMistress' are
those to 'thelovers and the tomb' and to the 'amorousbirds of
prey', bothwell known images ofthe alchemical unionofman
and woman, and two ofthe most memorable emblems in the
visualrepresentationofthealchemicalprocess.Theunionofman
and woman in alchemy signified the magical moment ofthe
coniunctioorchemicalweddinginwhichoppositeswereunited
toform anintegratedwhole (fig.1).Intreatises suchasMylius'
Philosophia reformata(1622), whichdescribeandrepresentthe
progress ofthe opuswitha sequenceofdramaticemblems, we
encounter a whole series of male and female couplings and
copulations. These emblems symbolized the union, at certain
stages, ofvarious substances and qualities such as sulphurand
mercury, hot and cold, dry and moist, active and passive, and
fixed and volatile. In his Lexicon ofAlchemy(1612), Ruland
definesthefinal 'unionofmanandwife' asthe 'copulationofthe
congealed spiritwiththe dissolved body'.l From the chemical
union ofthe congealed spirit with the purified body came the
precious Philosopher's Stone, the third principle or divine
knowledgewhicharoseatthisresolutionofopposites.TheStone
waspoeticallyreferredto asthe 'son' or'child' ofthecopulation
ofmale and female, and was capable ofconverting lead into
gold, and basemanintothedivine. Butwhile male andfemale
were kept apart, this crucial generation of the 'son' or Stone
could not occur and so the opus was unable to proceed. The
stateofthematterinthealchemicalvesselbeforethe 'copulation'
was saidtobeinastateof'separation'.
Itisthus appropriate thatMarvell should apply the language
ofalchemy tothe artofseduction.In'TohisCoyMistress',the
central preoccupation ofthe poem is with ending the state of
separationandbringingabouttheunionofmaleandfemale. The
maleloverbeginsbyplayfullyengagingthemistress's attention
with a witty verbal seduction. He urges her to unite with him
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Fig,.,e 1
.f'+.~
Fig,.,e 2
Figure1: UnionoftMloversintMakmbic Fig,.",3: TMloversandthetombwithSaturn
Pretiosissimum Donum Dei (per) Georgium Mylius,Philosop,,","formata,p.243.
Anrach, 17th century, Bibliotheque de
Fig,.,e4: TheloversandtMtomb
l'Arsena1, Paris, MS 975, reproduced in
TM Rosary of tM Philosophers(1550), ed.
JacquesvanLennep,A/chimie:Co_wilDonIi
AdsmMcLean,Englishtrans1stionofFerguson
I'/tistoiretkI'arta/chimique,Bmssels:Cr6dit
MS 210,Edinburgh: Magnum Opus Hermetic
CommunaldeBelgique,1985,p.135.
Sourcewod<s,1980,p.39.
Fig,.,e2: LoversandtMlomb Figue5: TMam'rousbirdsofpre,
Johannes Mylius, Philosophia refo,mata, 'TheBook ofLambspring' (1599), Hermetic
Frsnkfurt:LucasJennis,1622,p.281.Bodleian Musellm, ed. A.E.Waite,NewYom: Samuel
Shelf-marl<BB33Art. Weiser,1974,I,p.291.
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6· 0,,"
r--~-:;~~..."
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
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now as there is notenoughtimeto waste in refusing and being
coy.Thiscoynesswillonlykeepthemseparate:
HadwebutWorldenough,andTime,
ThiscoynessLadywerenocrime.
Wewouldsitdown,andthinkwhichway
Towalk.andpassourlongLovesDay.
ThoubytheIndianGangesside
Should'stRubiesfind: IbytheTide
OfHumberwouldcomplain.2 (11. 1-7)
A similarly lamented separation is recounted in Herrick's
alchemicalpoem 'Tothe Kingand Queene,upontheirunhappy
distances' where the parted 'Man and Wife' are compared
to separate streams: 'Like Streams, you are divorc'd: but
'twillcome,when /Theseeyesofmineshall seeyoumixagen'
(11. 5-6).3 Theimageoftheloversvastlyseparatedontheshores
ofthe rivers Ganges and Humber in 'To his Coy Mistress' is
analogousto Herrick'smanandwife who areseparatedstreams.
Inalchemy,theimageofthetworiversorstreamsreferredtothe
dualmale-femalenatureofthemercurialwatersortransforming
arcanum.Thesetwo aspects, saystheRosary, haveanopposite
chemical action: one watercongeals while the otherdissolves.
The 'HermetisTrismegistiTractatusAureus' statesthat'thereare
two Stones of the Wise, found in the Shores of the Rivers'
whichare 'Male andFemale'.4 Theconiunctiowas sometimes
described as the union ofthe separated waters, and Herrick's
poemillustratesthiswiththecomparisonofthemaleandfemale
to 'divorc'd' 'streams' whichwill 'mixagen' inchemicalunion.
Marvell'swinyparodyofpoeticloveconventionscontinues:
Iwould
LoveyoutenyearsbeforetheFlood:
Andyoushouldifyoupleaserefuse
TilltheConversionoftheJews.
MyvegetableLoveshouldgrow
VasterthenEmpires,andmoreslow. (II. 7-12)
If there were 'World enough, and Time', he would certainly
woo heroveraninfinitelylong periodextendingbackward into
the distant past ('before the Flood'), and forward into an
apocalypticfuture ('theConversionoftheJews').5 Itispossible
thatMarvellishereplayingonthemeaningsof'conversion'.The
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'conversion ofthe elements' into a state ofunion is a phrase
commonlymet with inalchemical texts, and is anotherway of
expressing the process which the 'union ofmale and female'
symbolizes. Margarita Stockerhas argued thatthesexualunion
in Marvell's poem is an image for the apocalyptic idea ofthe
conversion and renovationofmanby Christ. Certainly we find
that in alchemy the regeneration of man is frequently seen
as analogous to the purification and conversion ofmetals. In
his sermon for Easter Monday of 1622, Donne stated: 'God
can work in all metals and transmute all metals: he canmake
... a Superstitious Christian a sincere Christian; a Papist,
a Protestant'. Likewise, an anonymous volume of alchemical
writings collected by Sir Hugh Platt (1522-1611) clearly
parallels 'the conversion of a sinner' to Christianity with the
conversion ofbase metal into gold, stating that they have like
degrees of preparation and operation. This same comparison
runs as aleit-motifthroughJohnEverard'sCommentary(1640)
on the Emerald Table.6 Marvell's lines may be interpreted in
the following way: ifthe mistress refuses until the conversion
ofthe Jews, the union ofmale and female (or 'conversion of
the elements') and theconsequent fulfilment and transmutation
willvanishrapidlyintomerehypothesis.Theconversioncannot
takeplaceuntilthelovershaveunited.
Thelover's 'vegetableLove' whichwoUld 'grow/Vasterthen
Empires, and more slow' also alludes to alchemical theory.
The alchemists held that the world was aliving organism with
metals growinginside its crustlikelivingvegetables orplants,
multiplying branches within the earth. It was thought that
metalsweregraduallygeneratedthroughtheactionofthewarmth
ofthe sun's rays penetrating into the substances in the earth.7
The 'imperfect' metals such as lead, copper and tin were
imagined as striving within the earth's mines to eventually
become the perfect metal gold. This idea occurs in Dryden's
,AnnusMirabilis' wheretheminersaredescribedasleavingthe
'unripeveins'intheearth'TilltimedigeststheyetimperfectOre'
which 'willbeGoldanotherday'.8 'Time' isakey word. Ifthe
metals, growing organically like greatvegetables in the earth,
were left there long enough, they would eventually mature
or 'ripen' into gold. But since the generation of metals into
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gold took thousands of years to come about naturally, the
alchemist aimed athastening the process ofnature 'artificially'
in the laboratory. 'That which the heate of the Sunne doeth
ina hundred yeeresintheMinesoftheEarthforthe generation
ofaMettall', says Artephius, 'our secretfire ... worketh in a
shorttime'. Inanotherplacehewrites:
we may afterwards in a short time, in less than one houreof
theday,doeaboveground,whichNaturewroughtunderground
in the mines ofthe Earth in a thousand yeereswhich is as it
weremiraculous.9
Itisclearthatinattemptingtohastentheextremelyslowgrowth
ofnature the alchemist's task was, in part, that ofconquering
time. It was also a task of working 'against nature'. In the
movementofthe alchemic wheel 'backwards' to the source of
creationto obtaintheprima materia,the alchemist was going
againstthe outward thrust ofnature's growth. This work was
termedtheopuscontranaturam.
Theloverin 'Tohis CoyMistress' islikethe alchemistwho
wantsto hastenwhatwouldnormallybe alengthyprocess. Ifhe
wereto alloweventstoprogressinthenaturalwayitwouldtake
thousandsofyears:
MyvegetableLoveshouldgrow
VasterthenEmpires,andmoreslow.
Anhundredyearsshouldgotopraise
ThineEyes,andonthyForeheadGaze.
TwohundredtoadoreeachBreast:
Butthirtythousandtotherest
Anageatleasttoeverypart,
AndthelastAgeshouldshowyourHeart.
ForladyyoudeservethisState;
NorwouldIloveatlowerrate. (11. 11-20)
Ifhe fails to seize the day and accomplish in a brieftime that
whichshould 'naturally' takeaeons,thelover's 'vegetableLove'
would grow as slowly and as vastly as the 'plant' of metals
within the earth. His most pressing desire, then, is to hasten
the process and outwit time, a desire which is contrary to
natural growth, 'vegetable' growth. Louis Martz has observed
that,incontrasttoMarvell'spoem,Herrick's carpediem poem
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'Corinna'sgoingaMaying' presentsloveasapartofnature,not
something contrary to it: 'emphasis falls upon the beauty of
the natural process, Herrick's poem is in tune with nature,
butMarvell'spoemisatwarwithnature')OMarvell'slover,like
thealchemist,isinvolvedinakindofopuscontranaturam.
In his bid to conquer time, the alchemist set up laboratory
conditions in which the generation ofmetals could take place.
This generation, which 'naturally' occurred in a process of
'vegetable' growth,was 'artificially' accomplishedbytakingthe
male and female 'seeds' ofmetals and unitingthem to produce
the Stone. Unlike vegetables, which were thought to 'multiply
within themselves',11 the Stone could be propagated only
throughtheunionofmaleandfemale. BasilValentinewrites: 'as
the male and female seed jointly represent the principle of
propagation, so also the speno ofthe matter out ofwhich our
Stone is made can be sown and increased')2 While male and
femalewerekeptapart,asterile,barrenconditionreignedandthe
Stonecouldnotbegenerated.
In'TohisCoyMistress',the'vegetableLove' canbeallowed
to grow slowly, occupying vast spaces and endless time, and
multiplying withinitselfas itwas believedplants do, butwhile
thiscontinues,the 'vegetable' lovercannotperfonntheessential
generative alchemy in which male and female must unite. The
stateremainsbarren,unconsummated.Thehollownessofeternal
separationresonates intheimage 'DesartsofvastEternity', and
vanishes into the cold silence ofthe 'marble Vault' where the
poet's 'ecchoingSong' shallsoundnomore:
ButatmybackIalwaieshear
TimeswingedCharriothurryingnear:
Andyonderallbeforeuslye
DesartsofvastEternity.
ThyBeautyshallnomorebefound;
Norin thymarbleVault,shallsound
MyecchoingSong;thenWormsshalltry
Thatlongpreserv'dVirginity:
AndyourquaintHonourtumtodurst,13
Andintoashesall myLust
TheGrave'safineandprivateplace,
ButnoneIthinkdothereembrace. (11.21-32)
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Thelovers' separation is no longer the subject oflight play
or amusing hyperbole. The tone has become urgent, and the
imagerymacabre. Nolongerdoestheloverenvisagetimelazily
multiplying into thousands of years of adoration and praise.
Suddenly, with 'Time's winged Charriot hurrying near', the
visionofhisownlife-spanrapidlycontractsintothecoldinevit
abilityofthe marble vault. Even so the loveris still enoughin
controltousethismomentaryfrissonofhorrorasmaterialforthe
persuasion of his mistress, wittily side-stepping the grave to
comeupwithanironicepitaph: 'TheGrave's afine and private
place,IButnoneIthinkdothereembrace'.
At the narrative level we are presented with a wry piece of
persuasioncommunicatingthelover'squitenaturaldesiretounite.
with his mistress before they die. At the same time the lines
resonate with alchemical overtones. The opus consisted of a
continuingseriesof'separations' and 'unions', and atonepoint
inthis cycle, the 'union' whichhadto precedethe 'separation'
was symbolized by the lovers uniting before they enter the
grave. Oncethe opuswas underway itwas vital thatthis union
occurredbeforethedissolutionor'death'. Andso,inalchemical
tenns, it is not only desirable that the lover in 'To his Coy
Mistress' overcome the separation and unite with his lady, but
it is also crucial that this union occur before time and death
overtake them. Marvellhas used the alchemical conceptofthe
unionwhichmusttakeplacebeforedeath,in 'Uponthe Deathof
theLordHastings'.Inthis instancethe opushas failed because
the sequenceof'union' and 'death' hasbeenreversed. Michael
Gearin-Toshhasnotedthatalchemyis oneofthethemesofthis
poem, buthas notdiscussed the alchemical significance ofthe
factthatthe youngHastingshas diedthedaybeforehisintended
marriage to the daughter ofTurquet de Mayeme, Paracelsian
physicianandalchemist.l4 Herethe 'death'hasfatallypreceded
the coniunctio of male and female. Mayeme, like 'some sad
Chymist' whosevessels have broken, has failed to produce the
alchemicallife-givingelixirwhichmighthavecuredHastings and
made 'immortal' theraceofMayemeandHastings.
Forthis alchemical reason the lover and mistress in 'To his
Coy Mistress' must enactthe coniunctiobefore they enterthe
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grave. Themacabre imageof'the lovers and the grave' is one
of the most striking emblems to be found in the alchemical
treatises (figs2, 3,4»)5 Alchemicalemblemsofthe coniunctio
frequently show the male and female figures accompanied by
symbolsofdeath- thecoffm,grave, winged angelofdeath, and
Saturn (or Time/Kronos) with his deathly scythe.l6 These
symbols indicate notonly the 'death' ofthe differentiated state
beforetheunion,butalsothefactthatthe 'separation'or'death'
follows fast on the coniunctio. In the 'putrefactio' which
succeededthedeathoftheloversthevesselwasreferredtoasthe
'tomb' or 'grave'. Ruland calls the vessel the 'Sepulchre and
Tomb' and also the 'Grave'. Pernety writes thatthe alchemists
'ont aussi pris Ie tombeaupour Ie vase'. And Donne equates
alembic and grave in 'ElegieontheLadyMarckham' (1609).17
The alchemical 'grave' was obviously a place of death and
corruption, but because the Stone was conceived there it was
simultaneously a place of conception and generation. In
alchemical theory, conception required a 'death' or stage of
putrefaction, and so the tomb orgrave in the great world was
seen as analogous to the womb in the little world. Marvell's
'grave', itwill be noted, is also associated with the womb- he
describes the grave as a 'fine and private place' with a sexual
playon 'privateplace' (1. 31»)8
The sixthemblem ofMylius' Philosophia reformata (fig. 3)
shows the lovers no longerembracing, lying in the tomb, with
Saturn and a skeleton holding a scythe standing by. Saturn
signified the 'death' of the bodies in the vessel and their
dissolution into the prima materia. Artephius speaks of the
'corruptionofthe body, whichis by wise mencalled Saturne'.
InsomecasesSaturnbecomesidentified withtheprimamateria
itself.l9As 'oldmanTime' withscytheandhourglass,hestands
atthepointintheopuswhentheoldform hasdissolvedandthe
creationofnewform isabouttooccur- inotherwordshestands
at the end and the beginning of time. Nicholas Flammel's
ExpositionoftheHieroglyphicalFigures (1624)describessuch
afigure. BehindMercury
there came running and flying with open wings, a great old
man, who upon his head hadan houre-glassefastened, and in
his hands a hooke (or sithe) like Death, with the which, in
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terribleandfmious manner,heewouldhavecutoffthefeetof
Mercury.20
In this image ofMercury pursued by winged 'Time', Saturn,
'Death' and 'Time' aresynonymous.
The image cluster of the lovers, the grave, time and death
which occurs in Mylius' emblem, comes alive in the central
stanza ofMarvell's poem. The lovers, the deathly 'grave' and
'marble Vault', and the image of 'Time's winged Charriot'
clustertogethertofonnthewellknownalchemicalemblem.
The loveratthis pointembarlcs onthe third and final partof
hisargument:
Nowtherefore,whiletheyouthfulhew
Sitson thy skinlikemorningglew,
AndwhilethywillingSoultranspires
AteveryporewithinstantFires,
Nowletussportuswhilewemay; (11.33-37)
Thisreadingofthe 1681 Folioisemendedinthe Bodleiancopy
(MS.Eng. poe.d.49) to:
Nowtherefore,whiletheyouthfulglew
Sitsonthyskinlikemorningdew
And the 1672Haward manuscript (Bod.MS. Don.b.8.pp.283-4)
reads:
Nowthen whit'styyouthfullGlue,
StickesonyourCheeke,likeMorningDew
Althoughallthe seventeenth-centuryversions containthe word
'glew', Thomas Cooke and most subsequent editors have
emended 'g1ew' to 'dew'. Exceptions are George de F. Lord,
JamesReeves andMartin Seymour-Smith, who retainthe 1681
Folio reading, and Elizabeth Story Donno, who uses the
Bodleianemendation.21
Whatis 'morningglew'?Onthemostobviouslevel 'morning
glew' combinestheideaoffreshearlymorningexudations from
plants withthatofyouthfulhuman sweat. Pliny refers to ahive
cementwhichbeesmakefrom theglueyresinofleafbuds:they
produce 'bee-glue from the droppings of the gum-producing
trees- the sap, the glue and resinofthe willow, elm and reed'.
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