To The Virgins To Make Much Of Time Analysis

Marriage may possibly be amongst the harshest teachers of life within a majority of our lives. In modern ages, a vast amount of people perceives marriage as unbreakable chains that ties us down because of finances and heavy responsibilities. However, it provides us with opportunities in learning to become selfless, which would require an extraordinary amount of self-discipline and commitment. Robert Herrick in, “To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time,” endeavours in enforcing the idea of time being precious as humans should search for somebody to marry. While half of the poem discusses time and doesn’t mention marriage until the end of the last stanza, there are poetic devices such as imagery and personification that enforces the belief that
The specific word choice is relatively simple, yet it continues to bring warmth to the audience rather than sadness. This is because Herrick’s poem is not meant to intimidate or rush us; however, it is quite obvious that his words are meant for us to realize how important love truly is as it should never be discarded. Especially as young adults, Herrick displays his firm belief that the younger generations should, “Then be not coy, but use your time/ And while ye may, go marry.” (ll. 13-14) The word choice Herrick utilizes incorporates a distinct association between happiness and marriage. The word, “marry” being sounded out could possibly have a correlation with the word, “merry” which practically means happiness. Such clever word choice is implemented to influence our minds that marriage leads to a happier life which then pressures us to become decisive about who we decide to be with for the rest of our lives. As said by Thomas Moison, Herrick endeavours to “persuade the virgins whom he is exhorting to marry, that their prime cannot endure, and that the only constant in life is the relentless motion of time and decay.” (p.1) Hence, Herrick applies a soothing yet meaningful tone that allows our minds to open up to his idea so that the younger audience would heed to his knowledge and follow the idea that there is a specific person for us to
In other words, rather than finding love and eventually marrying that person, various people believe Herrick is primarily focusing on the fact that the younger age group should seize any moment they have and to not waste the time they have left. It is even declared that Herrick’s passage describes the passing of time and that as we age, our self-being begins to naturally change. Hence, humans become unhealthy and less ambitious which forms regret and leads to a sad death. For example, Herrick’s claim that, “Old time is still a-flying,”(l. 2) could simply be interpreted solely for the idea that time is dcaying. Furthermore, when, ”this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.” (ll. 3-4) These two lines additionally support the idea that everyday is precious and can never be earned back. However, the audience must realize that the first two stanzas contain the only ideas regarding time. This is because Herrick requires a reason for society to realize what he is truly explaining. The metaphors, personification, and imagery of time serves as a backbone so humans become aware that once time is lost, it could never be earned again. It is clearly obvious that Herrick targeted those who have not become married as the title is,