Example Poetry Presentation Miss Tyczynski English 12

Time Period: The Renaissance  Robert Herrick and Andrew Marvell were writing at the end of the Renaissance.  They were considered Cavalier poets (loyal to the king).  They “wrote lyrics about love and loyalty” (165).

Robert Herrick ( ) pgs  well-educated  spent thirty years as a country parson  addressed many of his poems to imaginary mistresses, all with names from classical poetry  one of the “Sons of Ben” (Ben Jonson)  his work was re-discovered in the nineteenth century.

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” pg. 275 samplesample  considered to be a carpe diem poem. (Latin for “seize the day”)  symbol- “a person, place, event, or object that had meaning in itself but suggests other meanings as well” (277).  The roses in the first stanza symbolize the brevity of youth.  “ Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.”

 The sun in the second stanza symbolizes the passage of time  “ The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, the higher he’s a getting, The sooner he will his race run, And nearer he’s to setting.”  metaphor-  personification-

 The speaker explains what life has in store for the young women.  “ That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times still succeed the former.”  what is the meaning of the word succeed in this stanza?

 In the fourth stanza the speaker gives his advice.  “Then be not coy, but use your time, And, while ye may, go marry; For, having lost but once your prime, You may forever tarry.”  tarry- remain or wait.  What does he suggest that young women do?  Why?

Andrew Marvell ( ) pgs  well- educated  politically active during the Revolution, the Puritan Commonwealth, and the Restoration.  trusted by both sides  considered a metaphysical poet  takes a more intellectual approach to the carpe diem poem.

“To His Coy Mistress” pg  Begins with the line “Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime.”  coyness- shyness, modesty  If we had the entire world and forever this modesty would not be a crime… “We would sit down, and think which way To walk, and pass our long love’s day. Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side river in India Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide”

“Of Humber would complain. I would sing love songsOf Humber would complain. I would river that flows through the Marvell’s hometown Love you ten years before the flood, the Biblical flood And you should, if you please, refuse Till the conversion of the Jews.” the Last Judgment (the end of the world)  The speaker explains some of the things they could do if they had all the time in the world.  He could take thousands of years to love her.

 Stanza two begins: “ But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near; And yonder all before us lie Deserts of vast eternity.”  The speaker brings us back to the real world where time is a factor.

 He begins to use the imagery of death: “ 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 honor turn to dust. And into ashes all my lust: The grave’s a fine and private place, But none, I think, do there embrace”  vivid descriptions of decay and death.  the speaker’s tone?

 Stanza three begins: “Now therefore, while the youthful hue Sits on thy skin like morning dew, And while thy willing soul transpires At every pore with instant fires, Now let us sport us while we may And now, like amorous birds of prey, Rather at once our time devour Than languish in his slow-chapped power,”  The speaker contrasts previous images of death with a radiant and lively present.  How should they act now?

“Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.”  Since the sun will not stand still for them, they should live (and love) so fiercely that the sun should have to run to keep up with them. Questions:  Who or what are the lovers fighting against ?  What is the author’s purpose in identifying this fight?  How are Herrick’s and Marvell’s poems different? What makes Marvell’s poem stand out as a carpe diem poem?