Robert Herrick, 1591-1674
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And the same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times will succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And, while ye may, go marry;
For, having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
Herrick carried on a slow life as a country minister until the Puritans took over England in the 1640s. Then he was deprived of his parish and forced to return to London, where he prepared his verse for publication.
More than fourteen hundred poems came out at once in 1648, including the one above. Public opinion during the Puritan regime was not likely to praise his poems "of youth, of love, and...of cleanly wantonness," as Herrick described. He was ignored until the nineteenth century.
The theme of To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time follows the same recurring pattern from seventeenth century poetry. Herrick presents the theme with a Carpe diem philosophy. The philosophy, which translated from Latin meaning "seize the day" is shown by the speaker urging younger women to build relationships while they are young,or they will be neglected.
Herrick pushes his philosophy further by giving two analogies that demonstrate how life is short, not to mention the life-span of the 1600s. First, Herrick compares life to that of a rose; meaning youth and beauty (1-4). Second, the author uses the example of the sun; showing that it's better to act when one is bright, warm, and inviting- compared to dark, cold, and possibly ugly (5-8).
"'To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" has been recognized as an important poem which pushes beyond the boundary of the typical Cavalry lyric extolling "Carpe diem," to reflect a unique interpretation of this notion, one which unites two seemingly contradictory belief systems, pagan and Christian.'" - H.R. Swardson, Poetry and Fountain of Light
"As for his perfection, we can tell how carefully he revised his work by comparing earlier versions of his poems with their final versions in Hesperides. Despite changes in taste, Herrick's place as a minor poet of consummate artistry seems secure." - John Press, "Robert Herrick: Overview" in Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991.
"Robert Herrick may not ultimately be a "Great Poet," but his achievement is none the less because of that. To participate in his poetic ceremonial fully and consciously is to understand how far the creative act may take us." - A. Leigh Deneef, in his "This Poetick Liturgie": Robert Herrick's Ceremonial Mode, Duke University Press, 1974, 200 p. Reprinted in Poetry Criticism, Vol. 9.
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Fake Copyright Logan Churchwell, 2005. If you are still reading this...you must be very bored.