To the Virgins, to make much of Time, Response

This poem makes much use of the poetic device carpe diem. This certain seize the day poem is clearly a man trying to convince a woman to give him her virginity. This can be seen right at the beginning by the title. The author also uses a rhyme scheme ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GHGH. This gives the poem a very rhythmic feeling. The author uses the flower in the first paragraph as a symbol for his lover, “And this same flower that smiles to-day to-morrow will be dying.” This sentence strongly represents the carpe diem aspect of this poem, to seize the day. In the second stanza he uses the sun as a metaphor for time. This metaphor also has a very carpe diem feel to it as he is saying that he’s getting higher quickly and that just means that he’s sooner to setting. He also personifies the sun by comparing it’s orbit to a race. There is a big shift at the end of the poem at about the end of line 12. He shifts from telling her how she hasn’t got long to telling her that at this time she may be beautiful but soon she will lose her prime. This entire poem is very convincing to seize the day and clearly that’s what Robert Herrick was trying to get across to his lover.