What does Andrew Marvell mean by 'making the sun run'?

Question

... he says... "thus we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run." I thought it meant that even though he can't elude time, they (him and his 'coy mistress') can still live on through the remembrance of their passion and love. But my teacher says that it means you should make the most of the time you have.

Who is right? .. or are we both?

Answer 1

I think both.  My interpretation of "making the sun run" is that time usually passes slowly when one is bored or waiting, but when you're enjoying yourself, it passes very quickly.

Answer 2

It means that we cannot hold time or let it stop. None could prevent the time from running because it the law of nature. The time is meant to pass, moment by moment. So, your teacher is correct: we must live most of our time and not waste it since we can't hold it still, thus, we can't also bring it back when it has already passed.