To His Coy Mistress

In class Prof. Sexson mentioned and talked about the poem "To His Coy Mistress". The overall point of the poem is a man asking or convincing a woman to sleep with him. He talks about how if he had all the time in the world, he would take eternity to admire every part of her, but unfortunately time is always moving forward and before long death will come, so therefore they should make love sooner rather than later. This poem made me realize the power of words and how language is used. The way the language in the poem is used is very fluid, romantic, and convincing. The poet uses beautiful phrases like:
"The last age should show your heart.
For, Lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate."

"The youthful hue sits on they skin like morning dew."

"Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day"

The language can't help but draw you in and make you want to listen to more. However, reflecting back on the subject of the poem, I can imagine how the same idea/question might be posed in a horrible, unthoughtful manner in modern day language. If a man were to use a much different form of language to convey the same idea, perhaps using casual slang or innapropriate terms, he would likely not be very succesful in getting what he desires. The poem, however, would likely generate a much different response for the woman. The simple way in which a man speaks to a woman can prove highly effective in love. She would see that the man actually cares about her, instead of thinking about her as something unvaluable.

Also, Prof. Sexson mentioned modern pick-up lines. Most of them are hilarious and many guys would fail at winning a girl's affection with such lines. I'm interested in if any of the boys in class are going to do the assignment on reciting a Shakesperean love poem to a lady, instead of a pick-up line. I wonder if it will actually work. It probably has the potential to work, but the guy has to appear sincere, honest, use a soft gentle voice, and be convincing, otherwise it could be a complete disaster.