Quinus Horatius Flaccus Analysis

540 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on carpe diem

A man named Quintus Horatius Flaccus came up with the phrase carpe diem which was to help people try new things while Marvell twisted it until it was almost unrecognizable. Some of the examples to support this are if you were given unlimited time on this earth, you knew you would never become apart of the ground, or growing old wasn't a fear would then that and only that would be the reason to not sleep with someone right away. Thus revealing the speaker’s manipulation of the carpe diem motif.
The very first occurrence of the speaker manipulating the carpe diem motif is located in the opening two lines. Andrew Marvell writes that “Had we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, lady, were no crime.” The image this projects is if we have unlimited time in the world we wouldn't have to hurry up with sleeping together, but as the next stanza proves we don't. Since we don't have all the time in the world the speaker believes there's no point in waiting. He says that they should start sleeping together sooner rather than later. Which the speaker translates to “ And your quaint honour turn to dust, / And into ashes all my lust. / The grave's a fine and private place, / But none I think do there embrace.” This is kinda changing the intended use of carpe diem to get a girl to sleep …show more content…

The speaker explains they will soon be nothing but dirt on in the ground and the worms will be crawling all over their bodies. The speaker summarizes this in the text "Thy beauty shall no more be found, / Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound / My echoing song: then worms shall try / That long preserved virginity, / And your quaint honour turn to dust, / And into ashes all my lust". Meaning If she stays pure for too long and dies she would of stayed pure for no reason. The speaker was again hoping this would convince her to sleep with

Show More
Related

  • A Song Of Changgan

    488 Words  | 1 Pages

    "But at fifteen, I straightened my brows and laughed, Learning that no dust could ever seal our love, That even unto death I would await you by my post; And would never lose heart in the tower of silent watching." When the speaker turns sixteen, her husband sets off on a lengthy journey which made her worried as he hasn't come home for a while. "Your footprints by our door, where I had watched you go, Were hidden, every one of them, under green moss, Hidden under moss too deep to sweep away.

    Read More

  • component 1c

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    The proposal, we presume, happens in the poem and the unwillingness we believe to be married, is also v...

    Read More

  • Mina In Bram Stoker's Dracula

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Idea that men and women should be allowed to see each other asleep before proposing or accepting. But […] the New Woman won't condescend in future to accept; she will do the proposing herself. And a nice job she will make of it, too! There's some consolation in that.”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Emily Dickensons C

    478 Words  | 1 Pages

    This means that crumbling is a result of dilapidation, which is caused by gradual decay. The deterioration that results is progressive: one stage of decay leads to the next until crumbling inevitably comes along. The second stanza contains four images of decay: “cobweb, rust, dust and borer in the axis.'; These images are combined with specific details which give them a deeper meaning. The dust is a “cuticle,'; which suggests that it is at the edges. The “cobwebs on the soul'; suggest spiritual deterioration (cobwebs symbolizing neglect). “Elemental'; rust means basic corrosion and corruption. the “borer in the axis'; represents something that eats a person from the inside out. In the third stanza, the word “ruin'; is perhaps the most suitable word for describing both physical and spiritual collapse. “Devil’s work'; speaks for itself--the devil is evil, ruin is evil. this poem can describe any type of ruin: personal, emotional, financial.

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Stanton: Originator of the Women's Movement

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    “I still recall… going into the large, darkened parlor to see my brother and finding the casket, mirrors and pictures all draped in white, and my father seated by his side, pale and immovable. As he took no notice of me, after standing a long while, I climbed upon his knee, when he mechanically put his arm about me and with my head resting against his beating heart we both sat in silence, he thinking of the wreck of all his hopes in the loss of a dear son, and I wondered what could be said or done to fill the void in his breast. At length, he heaved a deep sign and said: “Oh, my daughter, I wish you were a

    Read More

  • Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Death stops for the speaker, he reins a horse-drawn carriage as they ride to her grave. This carriage symbolizes a hearse of which carries her coffin to her grave a day or two after her death. As they ride, they pass, “the School… / the Fields of Gazing Grain— / [and] the Setting Sun—” (lines 9-12). These three symbolize the speakers life, from childhood in the playgrounds, to labor in the fields, and finally to the setting sun of her life. When the speaker and Death arrive at the house, it is night.

    Read More

  • 17th Century Seduction Poems Are Relevant In The 21st Century

    2107 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • To His Coy Mistress And Youth's The Season Made For Joys

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the entire poem, coyness is not regarded as an attractive behavior in the long term view of objective reality. Time is always of the essence, and death puts an end to all physical and emotional interactions between people. This is expressed in the line “that long-preserved virginity, and your quaint honor turn to dust, and into ashes all my lust” (Marvell). As time progresses, so does the process of decay, and this is what leads to the cycle of life and death. Marvell conveys both the biological and emotional need to propagate the concept of carpe diem, seizing the day and taking initiative in the face of time’s constant war against mortality.

    Read More

  • Relationships and Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

    1980 Words  | 4 Pages

    A man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge,—what had I to do with youth and beauty like thine own! Misshapen from my birth-hour, how could I delude myself with the idea that intellectual gifts might veil physical deformity in a young girl’s fantasy! … Nay, from the moment when we came down the old church-steps together, a married pair, I might have beheld the bale-...

    Read More

  • Philip Larkin's "Talking in Bed"

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author of the poem discusses right away that lying with one's partner is the basis of human nature, "Lying together there goes back so far, / an emblem of two people being honest" (1.1-2). However, through the use of words the meanings can be interpreted in many ways and take on entirely different meanings. As one would first read, "Lying together" seems innocent enough, as the image of two lovers clutching each other in a romantic embrace comes straight to mind. However, it can be said that the ...

    Read More

  • Comparing The Eve of St. Agnes and Romeo and Juliet

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    means; they eventually end up in the same bed, knowing their love will be spurned by their

    Read More

  • To His Coy Mistress

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    The speaker continues to argue that time is not in favor of his mistress’s nervousness or his age. For instance, he says, “But at my back I always hear time’s winged chariot hurrying near” (lines 21 and 22). In other words, he is saying his time is running out quickly. There can be many reasons why his time is running short, but according to the poem there is one reason he could be in a rush to make love with his mistress. The speaker says, “And yonder all before us lie deserts of vast eternity” (lines 23 and 24). “Deserts of vast eternity” (line 24) expresses his concern of not being able to have children, which would make him sterile. As men age, their sperm count becomes less and less, which makes conceiving a child nearly impossible.

    Read More

  • Comparison of how The Flea and To His Coy Mistress Present and Develop the Poets' Arguments

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Marvel to His Mistress: Carpe Diem!

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marvell's piece is structured as a poem but flows as a classical argument. He uses the three stanzas to address the issues of time, love, and sex. In doing so, he creates his own standpoint and satirizes his audience in the process. Using appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos; logical reasoning; and even a hint of the Rogerian technique - Marvell proves that acting now is essential. The logical argument for the "carpe diem" theme is built up from beginning to end.

    Read More

  • To His Coy Mistress Essay: Imagery, Symbolism, and Descriptions

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Andrew Marvell in his poem describes a young man convincing his fair mistress to release herself to living in the here and now.  He does this by splitting the poem up into three radically different stanzas.  The first takes ample time to describe great feelings of love for a young lady, and how he wishes he could show it.  The idea of time is developed early but not fully.  The second stanza is then used to show how time is rapidly progressing in ways such as the fading of beauty and death.  The third stanza presses the question to the young mistress; will she give herself to the young man and to life?  Although each stanza uses different images, they all convey the same theme of living life to the fullest and not letting time pass is seen throughout. Marvell uses imagery, symbolism, and wonderful descriptions throughout the poem.  Each stanza is effective and flows easily.  Rhyming couplets are seen at the ends of every line, which helps the poem read smoothly.

    Read More

More about Quinus Horatius Flaccus Analysis

Open Document