Carpe Diem
...ndrew Marvell and Robert Herrick shared Horace’s view of seizing the day and using time wisely. Andrew Marvell describes his view of “carpe diem” in the poem, “To his Coy Mistress”. The presence of time is seen in the line, “But at my back I alwais hear / Times winged charriot hurrying near” (Margoliouth, 26). The speaker is telling his mistress of the hurry of time. He goes on to say, “The graves a fine and private place / But none I think do there embrace(p. 26). Here, he is telling her that death is near and they should use the time they have. “To his Coy Mistress”, communicates to the reader the importance of not waiting for tomorrow and to appreciate the here and now. In the poem, “Go, Lovely Rose”, the poet Edmund Waller is attempting to convince his beloved “how small a part of time they share”(Gardner, 277). In this line, the author is trying to persuade the young woman to make haste towards their budding relationship. He uses the rose as an analogy to young love. Like flowers both love and beauty can fade swiftly. So it is best to seize the opportunity at hand when it presents itself. Robert Herrick’s poem, “to the Virgins, To Make Much of Time”, expresses the theme of “carpe diem”. The speaker tells the “Virgins” to “gather ye rosebuds while ye may” because the flower “that smiles today / Tomorrow will be dying” (Gardner, 243). In this line, he uses the image of a rosebud’s beauty to s...