Robert Herrick and Marvell on Carpe Diem

As Wendy Martin says “the poem leaves the reader with painful impression of a woman in her mid-fifties, who having lost her domestic comforts is left to struggle with despair. Although her loss is mitigated by the promise of the greater rewards of heaven, the experience is deeply tragic.” (75)

In the poem “Carpe Diem” the speaker, Horace, is giving advice to the reader in a very serious manner. He is advising the reader to live life to the fullest and never take anything for granted. Meanwhile, Robert Herrick is giving the same advice but in a more light-hearted manner. Furthermore, in “Carpe Diem” and “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time, symbolism and different tones are utilized to portray the theme of living in the moment.

I say “carpe diem” because, to me, the essays convey the message that we are all going to die someday so we must make the most of the time we are allotted. The most evident symbols of this underlying theme are the dying moth in Woolf’s essay and E. B. White’s realization that time waits for no one in his. As grim as they may be, these two

Ever hear of the phrase “carpe diem”? It is a common Latin phrase meaning “seize the day” or in plain English, make the most of the time you have. This phrase is very well portrayed in Robert Herrick’s most popular poem “To the Virgins, to Make

Carpe diem is when the author makes the reader understand that they are trying to tell them to live to their fullest. In both “To His Coy Mistress” and “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” the author mentions how they should live like it’s their last day and to make the best out of it. Also beauty takes a big role in both poems and how one day it will fade, so for them to take advantage of it now before it fades.

Here’s some background information about myself: I am 19 years old, I am a Christian, and this is my Sophomore year of college. In the poem, two older women are talking about their views on life. The significant thing about their conversation is the fact that they both have two different ideas as to what life has left to offer them. They both agree that in the beginning life was sweet. I believe they were referring to how life was when they were younger women. They felt that life was rich and pure during those specific years. The first woman then goes on to say that life eventually grew

Roman philosopher “urged men to realize before it was too late that life, as most people led it ,

Andrew Marvell's elaborate sixteenth century carpe diem poem, 'To His Coy Mistress', not only speaks to his coy mistress, but also to the reader. Marvell's suggests to his coy mistress that time is inevitably rapidly progressing and for this he wishes for her to reciprocate his desires and to initiate a sexual relationship. Marvell simultaneously suggests to the reader that he or she should act upon their desires as well, to hesitate no longer and seize the moment before time, and ultimately life, expires. Marvell makes use of allusion, metaphor, and grand imagery in order to convey a mood of majestic endurance and innovatively explicate the carpe diem motif.

Horace’s statement on first glance, especially in light of treatment of thematic issues related to carpe diem poetry, might have a ring of truth to it, and might appear to be a reasonable and logical statement. It puts forward the viewpoint that one should "seize the day" since "tomorrow" is uncertain. Nevertheless, one can also argue from the viewpoint that because of the fleeting nature of time, it is not reasonable to seize the day since a person's accomplishments and

The concept of carpe diem has been a part of society for a long time it has been used and translated in many ways. In todays society people translate seizing the day as a way of living their life in the moment and living each moment to the fullest by pursuing ones desires. Christians follow a biblical worldview and live in light of scripture, which means following God’s message from the bible in hopes of reaching perpetuity. Analyzing today’s society and the meaning of carpe diem, there can be good and bad aspects in relation with Christian views. There are good views on the aspect of moving on from past mistakes and striving to be the best person one can be. There can be bad views within the aspect of the way people go about seizing their days.

One of the most universal symbols of beauty is the flower. Their delicate buds hold such great beauty, while being so fragile and temporary. Despite their magnificence, flowers must remain stationary. It is a prison, yet no one thinks beyond the simplicity of a pretty flower. Like women, flowers are seen at face value without any concern for the lack of freedom, opportunity, and expression they have. Women are meant to be seen just how society expects and not any other way. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, female characters face the serious consequences of societal expectations and views on sexuality. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses the motif of flowers to symbolize women and their virginity to demonstrate the confinement of women in society.

Robert Herrick, an author from the 17th century enjoyed writing about intimacy and pleasure within his poems. The poem to be discussed throughout the paper is The Vine, by Robert Herrick, because of it’s rich metaphoric and symbolic aspect to love, pleasure, and dominance. Essentially the poem, The Vine, as a whole is a metaphor because the speaker has taken the form of a vine or tendril in the poem. The poem is about a man actually dreaming of a woman, Lucia. Lucia is referred to as dainty and the speaker describes her physical characteristics which helps the reader picture what is happening. Robert Herrick specifically uses certain words to express his love and feelings for Lucia. The simile in the poem that is most significant in its entirety is “And found (ah me!) this flesh of mine/More like a stock than like a vine” (22/23). In these lines, the speaker is waking up from his sexual dream. The speaker explains that he is feeling more of a stock than a vine. This is symbolic because the title of the poem is, The Vine, as the speaker has transformed himself into a vine in his dream. By saying he is feeling more like a stock can be interpreted as the growth has diminished and he can no longer love freely for a long time. His love for Lucia is hardening or ending. The physicality of the stock to a vine can also imply that he is waking up with an erection. The speaker is turned on by his dream and has woken up with the feeling of pleasure. These lines are extremely important to the entirety of the poem because it ends with the speaker waking up from his dream and the reader is aware of how he feels.

To Browning, a rose still holds beauty even when it is unable to function in nature. By comparing the fairness of a rose after death and giving it more love “than to such roses bold” (30), Browning indicates that the rose is more deserving of praise than living roses because it is underappreciated. The passing of a rose does not mean that the beauty is gone, in fact, the heart “doth view [the rose] fair, doth judge [it] most complete” (24). Similarly, the departure of a loved one is devastating, however, there is peace in

Choices define who we are, good or bad they should be meaningful. Carpe diem is a method of thinking that represents seizing the day. How people seize the day can be very different. it can be having the courage to say something to a girl, standing up for a kid being bullied or following your dreams and participating in a play. Mr. Keating is as a very flamboyant English teacher at the Welton Academy. He is very enthusiastic about teaching English and very passionate about ensuring that his students understand the power of carpe diem; which is viewed as an almost taboo subject in the preppy boys school. Nevertheless he goes to great lengths to introduce the carpe diem lifestyle and mentality to his class.

Carpe Diem is another major theme never found in courtly love poetry, but rather in cavalier. Cavalier poets urge young lovers to “seize the day”, enjoy the present moment because youth and beauty will fade soon and forever. The theme of brevity of life also serves the carpe diem, since the best in life ends “Corinna’s Going a Maying” insists on enjoying youth and love and not to be shy, because all pleasures of life come to an end when death comes. [Cavalier poets did not take life seriously, because this life is too short, so one should enjoy it.