carpe diem

 

(kär'pĕ dē'ĕm) , a descriptive term for literature that urges readers to live for the moment [from the Latin phrase “seize the day,” used by Horace]. The theme, which was widely used in 16th- and 17th-century love poetry, is best exemplified by a familiar stanza from Robert Herrick's “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

Shakespeare's version of the theme takes the following form in Twelfth Night:

What is love? 'Tis not hereafter;
Present mirth has present laughter;
 [U+00A0][U+00A0]What's to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come and kiss me sweet and twenty;
 [U+00A0][U+00A0]Youth's a stuff will not endure.

Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace (Odes 1.11). It is popularly translated as seize the day, although a more literal translation of "carpe" would be "pluck" (pluck the day), as in the plucking of fruit.

Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi	Leuconoe, don't ask — it's dangerous to know —
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios	what end the gods will give me or you. Don't play with Babylonian
temptaris numeros. ut melius, quidquid erit, pati.	fortune-telling either. Better just deal with whatever comes your way.
seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,	Whether you'll see several more winters or whether the last one
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare	Jupiter gives you is the one even now pelting the rocks on the shore with the waves
Tyrrhenum: sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi	of the Tyrrhenian sea--be smart, drink your wine. Scale back your long hopes
spem longam reseces. dum loquimur, fugerit invida	to a short period. Even as we speak, envious time
aetas: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.	is running away from us. Seize the day, trusting little in the future.

Meaning of the phrase

One interpretation of the phrase might be as an existential cautionary term, much like "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" with emphasis on making the most of current opportunities because life is short and time is fleeting. It has, therefore, some connections with another Latin phrase, Memento mori.

Related expressions

The phrase is often extended to explicitly mention the possibility of imminent death, as in "Seize the day, for tomorrow you may die."

Along the same theme, and evoking some of the same imagery as the poem, is the expression "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die", which derives from Biblical verses (such as Isaiah 22:13), and which occurs many times in modern English-language popular culture.

The phrase collige virgo rosas ("gather, girl, the roses") appears at the end of the poem De rosis nascentibus^[1] (also called Idyllium de rosis) attributed to Ausonius or Virgil. It encourages youth to enjoy life before it's too late.

Related but distinct is the expression memento mori, "remember that you are mortal"; indeed, memento mori is often used with some of the sense of carpe diem. However, two major elements of memento mori are humility and repentance, neither of which figures prominently in the concept of carpe diem.

In literature

• This idea was popular among 16th and 17th-century poets. French poet Pierre de Ronsard for example, who wrote « Cueillez dès aujourd'hui les roses de la vie » (Sonnets pour Hélène, 1578), or Robert Herrick, whose To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time begins with "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" [1].
• This theme is also recalled in the verses of English Victorian poet Tennyson, and in Andrew Marvell's famous To His Coy Mistress.
• The 'O mistress mine' song sung by the clown in Act II, Scene iii of William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night has been referred to as having the spirit of 'carpe diem' in it because of the line 'Youth's a stuff will not endure', amongst others.
• "Carpe diem" is also used to denote the theme of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love".
• Saul Bellow's novella Seize the Day deals with this idea of living for the moment vs. worrying about the future.
• The phrase inspired the title of Terry Pratchett's 1998 book Carpe Jugulum.
• Title of a story by Argentinian writer Abelardo Castillo in the volume "Las maquinarias de la noche" (1992).
• Robert Frost wrote a poem entitled "Carpe Diem", and many of his poems have similar themes
• The title of the Dean Koontz novel Seize the Night is derived from the phrase.

In movies

• "Carpe Diem! Seize the day, lads! Make your lives extraordinary!" was used in the hit movie, Dead Poets Society, a film that explores the idea of "carpe diem" from the viewpoint of a classroom of young men at an all-boys boarding school.
• The phrase also appears, albeit less prominently, in a number of other movies, such as Clueless, Torque, Waiting..., and Out Cold.
• In Mrs. Doubtfire, when Mrs. Doubtfire is retrieving her dentures from her glass of wine, she says "carpe dentum", or "seize the teeth".
• In the 2003 Oscar winning short film Harvie Krumpet, Harvie, struggling against a series of unfortunate events, feels compelled to change his life after encountering the words beneath a statue of Horace.

In music

• A number of songs are titled "Carpe Diem", including songs by The Fugs, Metallica, Dream Theater, Nebula, Authority Zero, Bigod 20, Nena, Will Haven, Jin, YeLLOW Generation, The Nerve Agents, Martyr, Elena Paparizou, and Andy Timmons. Other songs include the phrase in their titles, such as Metallica's "Carpe Diem Baby". The phrase is also the title of some albums, such as one by Lara Fabian.
• Likewise, a number of songs are titled "Seize the Day", including songs by Freya, Demons & Wizards, Avenged Sevenfold, and Carolyn Arends, or include the phrase in their lyrics. Indeed, many songs include both "carpe diem" and "seize the day" in their lyrics. Similarly, Dave Matthews Band's "Trippin Billies" includes the phrase "Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die".

Others

• A variation of the phrase, carpe viam ("seize the road"), is the motto of the online running club Dead Runners Society.
• When a fisher catches a carp in the video game Animal Crossing, the player comments "Carp diem!".
• In 2003 Gap clothing company introduced a new pair of jeans known as Carpe Diem denim. The jeans fit into their new marketing campaign that was aimed towards women's empowerment.
• In The Simpsons episode Homer The Vigilante Jimbo Jones is seen spay painting Carpe Diem on the wall

References

1. ^ De rosis nascentibus, in a collection of the works of Virgil under the note Hoc carmen scripsit poeta ignotus ("This poem was written by an unknown poet").

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