To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Robert Herrick 1648

First published in 1648 in a volume of verse entitled Hesperides, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” is perhaps one of the most famous poems to extol the notion of carpe diem. Carpe diem, or “seize the day,” expresses a philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and therefore the need to live for and in the moment. Seizing the day means eating, drinking and making merry for tomorrow we shall all die. The phrase was used by classicists such as Horace, and its spirit marks the theme of Herrick’s lyric poem. Echoing Ben Jonson’s poem, “Song: To Celia,” the speaker of the poem underscores the ephemeral quality of life and urges those in their youth to actively celebrate life and its pleasures; however, the speaker does not urge “the virgins” simply to frolic adulterously, but to seek union in matrimony, thereby uniting the natural cycles of life and death with the rites and ceremonies of Christian worship. Although a very common theme in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century verse, and particularly in Cavalier poetry, the association of Christianity and carpe diem is not a traditional one; it is unique to Herrick and perhaps “natural” given Herrick’s thirty-two year career as vicar of Dean Prior, an appointment originally bestowed by King Charles I. Written during a period of great political unrest that culminated in Britain’s Civil War, the theme and the sage advice proffered by the speaker of the poem appears appropriate in this particularly transient period. The carpe diem spirit, however, has translated to modern times and is the theme of

Henry James’s The Ambassadors and Robert Frost’s “Carpe Diem.”

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, by John William Waterhouse

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem written by Robert Herrick in the 17th century. The poem is in the genre of carpe diem, to seize the day.

Interpretation

The poem uses many metaphors throughout to relate youth and nature to the reader. Herrick strongly uses "The Virgins" in the poem to represent people at the beginning of life, and speaks of how, just like the sun rises and sets, so does every human soul. The poem depicts the human existence on earth, and that as life goes on and people age, and everything becomes limited. The poet urges people that now is the time to take advantage of youth and energy, because if we are still virgins in the end, then we have not made the most of time.

The "sun" in the first line of the second stanza may be a pun on the word "son", as he is referring to youth. The word "marry" in the third last line of the last stanza may be a pun on the word "merry", again stressing the "carpe diem" theme.

External Links

• Waterhouse Paintings of Herrick's Poem "To Virgin, Make Much of Time"

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