First, Marvell creatively constructs the theme of “Carpe Diem” with the use of allusion within his poem. As an illustration of this point, in the first stanza it states, “I would love you ten years before the flood, and you should, if you please, refuse till the conversion of the Jews” (Marvell 7-10) over the span of two couplets. To explain, lines 7-8 state “ten years before the flood”. In this instance, the writer references the Biblical flood account involving Noah within the book of Genesis. So, the writer uses this as device to expound upon the idea of time and, in this instance, pre-time in the writer's mind. Likewise, in line 10 that states “till the conversion of the Jews”, the writer again writes in accordance with the Biblical narrative
The subsequent section is concise as it provides the depressive historical context of the poem. The usage of factual period of time 1949 and the war / Now four years dead- conveys the suffering of the exiles and their endurance of the lengthy wait to migrate as they weren’t economically or physically capable to leave earlier.
This passage embodies hope for Septimus Smith. The horrific memories of the war have caused Septimus to have feelings of deep pain and guilt. He struggles to live in the present as he is always returning to the past. Despite that, Septimus can find peace and comfort by surrounding himself with nature and focusing on the little details of its beauty. Unfortunately however, Evans is coming, whether Septimus want him to or not. Time cannot be held back no matter how hard Septimus tries. The past is unable to escape him, which later foreshadows his suicide. But at this instant in time, Septimus Smith is able to remove that fear that weighed heavily upon him at the beginning of the passage as he sings and rejoices to an immortal ode to Time.
The meaning of the first stanza is do the things you need to get done because tomorrow the opportunity may not exist. It states this by saying gather rosebuds while you can because that beautiful flower “tomorrow will be dying” (Herrick 385). The next stanza talks about the Sun’s life from dawn to dusk. By describing it’s race against time it is telling a person that there is not much sunlight so make the most of it To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time and Carpe Diem
In the second stanza, Marvell turns his attention to another “problem” that his lover might pose by not sleeping with him. He writes, “But at my back I always hear/ Times winged chariot hurrying near” (21-22). Marvell is concerned about death in this situation. He is now pleading to his woman because he feels threatened by time. He tells her that time is running out and that they had better sleep together before it is too late. Marvell solidifies this argument a few lines later by presenting the idea of death and the fact that they can not have sexual intercourse once they are dead. He writes, “The grave’s a fine and private place/ But none, I think, do there embra...
The words carpe diem mean “seize the day” in Latin. It is a theme that has been used throughout the history of literature and has been a popular philosophy in teaching from the times of Socrates and Plato up to the modern English classroom. Carpe diem says to us that life isn’t something we have forever, and every passing moment is another opportunity to make the most out of the few precious years that we have left. In the poems “A Fine, a Private Place” by Diane Ackerman and “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, carpe diem is the underlying theme that ties them together, yet there are still a few key differences throughout each of these two poems that shows two very different perspectives on how one goes about seizing their day.
The them of “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” and “To His Coy Mistress” is carpe diem. The carpe diem them states, “life is brief, so let us seize the day.” In “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” Herrick simply states:
"'Carpe Diem'('seize the day') is a Latin phrase which has come to denote an important literary motif especially common in lyric poetry: the encouragement to make the most of present life while it lasts, or to 'live for the moment," (The UVic Writer's Guide). Both Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle" explore the idea that people should attempt to live life to its fullest. Thomas's poem, written to his father, employs a very emotional, pleading style that deeply appeals to the audience, while Frost's poem, a series of thoughts about his own eventual death, exhibits a more pensive, practical, subtle style that craftily forces the audience to think of their own eventual demise. The themes of the two poems are similar in that both explain that death is impending, that people should not take for granted the time they have left on earth, and that people need courage to face death and to realize when death can wait. Thomas, however, strongly believes that people should take an active role in what happens to them during their lives as evident in his fervent, cogent tone, while Frost believes that each person has an appropriate time to die, and that people should try to accomplish their obligations before they let themselves give in to death's temptation.
In the poem “To His Coy Mistress”, the speaker says, “Had we but world enough, and time…I would love you ten years before the Flood, and you should if you please refuse till the conversion of the Jews” (lines 1 and 7-10). The speaker is stating if they had all the time in the world, they would have no need to rush their love making. With all the time they would want he would love her from the very beginning until the very end. The speaker refers to the “Flood” (line 8) as the flood of Noah’s Arc in the Bible, which indicates he would love her from the beginning of time. Next, the speaker says, “Till the conversion of the Jews” (line 10), which would indicate the end of time. In the Bible, it is believed that when Christ comes back for his people the Jews will convert to Christianity. Therefore when Christ returns, that will be the end times. In conclusion, the speaker is saying if they had time from the beginning to the very end, his mistress is welcome to continue being shy. In contrary, the speaker and his coy mistress do not have that kind of time to spare, which is the reason he is trying to convince his wife to surrender her virginity.
The poem's subject matter is hinted at very early on, in the title itself; “The Latest Decalogue” is a very fitting title for the poem, as it hints at the fact that the poem is a Victorian take on the ten commandments, taking into account new social ideals.
There is a similar theme running through both of the poems, in which both mistresses are refusing to partake in sexual intercourse with both of the poets. The way in which both poets present their argument is quite different as Marvell is writing from a perspective from which he is depicting his mistress as being 'coy', and essentially, mean, in refusing him sex, and Donne is comparing the blood lost by a flea bite to the blood that would be united during sex. Marvell immediately makes clear his thoughts in the poem when he says, "Had we but world enough, and time/ This coyness, Lady were no crime", he is conveying the 'carpe diem' idea that there is not enough time for her to be 'coy' and refuse him sexual intercourse and he justifies this thought when he suggests when she is dead, in ?thy marble vault?, and ?worms shall try that long preserved virginity?. He is using the idea of worms crawling all over and in her corpse as a way of saying that the worms are going to take her virginity if she waits until death. Donne justifies his bid for her virginity in a much longer and more methodical way, he uses the idea of the flea taking her blood and mixing it with his, ?It suck?d me first, and now sucks thee?, and then...
...undending sense of time “the slow clock ticking” she conscious of the unusual slowness of time. The poem ends by Mariana addressing God 'Oh God, that I were dead', here we have an ironic reference to Measure for Measure, indeed in the play Duke Vincentio diguised as a fiar reunites the two lovers.
The speaker’s language towards the woman’s death in “The Last Night that she lived” portrays a yearning attitude that leads to disappointment; which reiterates human discontent with the imperfections of life. The description of woman’s death creates an image of tranquility that causes the speaker to aspire towards death. Her death compares to a reed floating in water without any struggle. The simile paradoxically juxtaposes nature and death because nature’s connotation living things, while death refers to dead things, but death becomes a part of nature. She consents to death, so she quietly dies while those around her refuse to accept her imminent death. The speaker’s description of death sounds like a peaceful experience, like going to sleep, but for eternity. These lines describe her tranquil death, “We waited while She passed—It was a narrow time—Too jostled were Our Souls to speak. At length the notice came. She mentioned, and forgot—Then lightly as a Reed Bent to the water, struggled scarce- Consented, and was dead-“ .Alliteration in “We waited”, emphasizes their impatience of the arrival of her death because of their curiosity about death. The woman’s suffering will be over soon. This is exhibited through the employment of dashes figuratively that form a narrow sentence to show the narrowing time remaining in her life, which creates suspense for the speaker, and also foreshadows that she dies quickly. The line also includes a pun because “notice” refers to the information of her death, and also announcement, which parallels to the soul’s inability to speak. “She mentioned, and forgot—“, refers to her attempt to announce her farewell to everyone, which connects to the previous line’s announcement. The dashes fig...
This truly reflected the conflicting beliefs the Anglo-Saxon people were feeling at the time. In line 41 of the Seafarer, it says, “Grown so brave, or so graced by God.” However, in line 43 the poem says, “Wondering what Fate has willed and will do.” One can see that these are two very different things, but they were used in the same context. In line 64 to 80 are the lines in which many different concepts are thrown out at once. Again, line 64 and 65 mentions, “Thus the joys of God Are fervent with life.” However, line 69 and 70 says, “Certain which of Fate’s three threats Would fall.” Some stanzas with these examples seem to be written to where anyone can interpret it in any way he or she may want to. This stanza was written to where anyone can interpret it in any way they want
Differing slightly from the traditional Greek example of a “wedding lyric,” (Britannica) Edmund Spenser’s Epithalamion is Spenser’s way of sharing both his fears and apprehensions, but also his hope and optimism in regards to his own new marriage to Elizabeth Boyle in 1594. The entire poem is written from the bridegroom’s point of view; from the moment he awakens on the wedding day, to the night, after the couple has consummated their nuptials. The poem’s structure and form are extremely complicated and often highly debated, but there are obvious patterns and insight in the poem’s form in connection to time. The most important interpretation of Spenser’s structure is the number of stanzas in direct correlation to the number of hours in a day. Thematically, the continuous change of tone in the poem during the 16th stanza - when the wedding day turns to the wedding night – suggests that, despite Spenser’s immense joy in his new marriage, he has deep fears regarding time, and the possibly damning effects time may have on his wedded bliss.
because he or she is studying like crazy and during six years the only thing