Compare and contrast the ways in which Marvell and Hardy explore attitudes towards women
... During the period of Thomas Hardy’s life, when a woman lost her virginity, she lost her innocence and purity; she was often an outcast from society afterwards. ... ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is about a man persuading a woman to sleep with him, the time period of the seventeenth century shows us that society’s views towards women were different, then, women were viewed more as possessions and men were powerful. ‘To his coy mistress’ is directed at women to ask them to hurry up the process of thinking about losing their virginity. ... ’ This shows us that at both time periods, men used women for their pleasure. There is more evidence of this when Marvell opens his poem with, ‘Had we but world enough, and time. ... ‘To His Coy Mistress’ was written in a period called the ‘Metaphysical’ period, it was fashionable to praise women’s body parts and this is what we see in Marvell’s poem. ... ‘The Ruined Maid’ is a duologue between two women that haven’t spoken in a while, they catch up on what has happened and talk about the effects of Amelia being ‘ruined’. ... Marvell talks about persuading a woman to sleep with him; ‘Now let us sport while we may’ and Hardy talks about being ‘ruined’: ‘Some polish is gained when we’re ruined, said she’, which towards the end of the poem becomes clear that ‘ruined’ may mean prostitution or being the mistress of a wealthy man. ... In exploring the ways Marvell and Hardy write about attitudes towards women there are contrasts in the titles. Hardy’s title, ‘The Ruined Maid’ talks about a maid, a young chaste woman who isn’t experienced and Marvell’s title ‘To His Coy Mistress’ suggests a women who is experienced, Coy means shy which is different to mistress as the definition of ‘Mistress’ is, a women who has a continuing extra marital sexual relationship with a man. ... This is an example of bathos, when he refers to Humber, which sets up a contrast. ... ’ ‘The Ruined Maid’ is split up in to six stanzas, they are all a conversation between two women who haven’t spoken in a while and who talk about what has happened.