Carpe Diem Poetry
Metaphysical Poets:
Robert Herrick
Andrew Marvell
p. 300
Film Clip
Dead Poets Society Clip
Carpe Diem
► Latin for “seize the day”
► Carpe diem quam minimum
credula postero – "Seize
the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the
next [day]" –Horace, an Epicurean thinker
 carpere: to pick or pluck
 “the philosophy of Epicurus who subscribed to a
hedonistic ethics that considered an imperturbable
emotional calm the highest good and whose followers
held intellectual pleasures superior to transient
sensualism” (Merriam Webster)
► “YOLO”
► Romans sometimes
displayed a human skull at
their wild parties as a reminder of the fate no
man can escape
Robert Herrick
1591-1674
► Apprenticed to his uncle, a London goldsmith
 perhaps how he acquired his taste for small, beautiful
things
► Did not enter a university until age 22 (very late in that
time) and did not leave until 29
 showed a lack of ambition and drive
► No regular occupation for the next few years
► Friends with playwright Ben Johnson
► At some point, ordained as a priest
► Serious part of his life began at age 39
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Robert Herrick
Sent to a parish in Dean Prior in Devonshire
 went Country referred to as “wretched and barbaric”
by Londoners
 he called Devonshire “dull” and “loathèd”; he even
kept a tame pig and taught it to drink from a tall mug
 he once threw his sermon book at a congregation that
had the audacity to look bored
1647 – Cromwell’s army arrived and replaced him with a
more puritanical preacher (very unlike Herrick)
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Robert Herrick
1648 - lived in London again and published a volume of
about 1,400 poems (Hesperides, or the Works Both Human and
Divine of Robert Herrick, Esq.)
 Hesperides: classic mythological name for collection of nymphs
who live in a garden and watch over a tree that bears golden
apples; this implies the book is full of precious things
 Less than a fourth fit into the “divine” category--others are very
“human”
 Herrick may have lived a less lively life than his poetry
►
When the king was restored 13 years later, Herrick was
reinstated and lived there until he died at age 83
Robert Herrick
Entrenched in Latin poetry
► Wrote his poems as if he were an ancient Roman,
imposing pagan customs, creeds, and rituals on the
English countryfolk and his own household
► Imitated the Latin love poems when he addressed
poems to beautiful women with classical names (e.g.
Julia, Corinna, Perilla, Anthea, and Electra)
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Robert Herrick
► Other
poem topics: his small house, his spaniel
named Tracy, the royal family in London, and
whatever came to his mind
► Poems overall present idea of “Merrie England,”
an ideal, pastoral state where sadness is
momentary and pleasure innocent
► Now apparent that he hid his political views
behind the guise of pastoral poetry
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”
Helios: Greek god who personified the sun; drove his
chariot across the sky every day
Andrew Marvell
► 1621-1678
► Son
of a clergyman
► Studied at Cambridge University and received an
excellent education
► Poet John Milton, who was not easily impressed
by other men’s learning said Marvell was “well
read in the Greek and Latin classics”
► After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Marvell
traveled for several years in Holland, France, Italy,
and Spain
Andrew Marvell
► Not
involved in the Civil Wars of the 1640s (not
aligned with Royalists or Parliamentarians)
► 1650 – tutor to heiress Mary Fairfax, daughter of
Sir Thomas Fairfax (lord general of the
Parliamentary armies)
 wrote “Upon Appleton House” about one of the
Fairfax’s estates, Nun Appleton
 did not publish this or any of his other poems; wrote
only for his friends’ and his own entertainment
Andrew Marvell
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After leaving the Fairfaxes, he became tutor to a ward of
Oliver Cromwell
1657 – assistant to Cromwell’s secretary of state after a
recommendation from John Milton
1659 – active in politics, serving as a member of Parliament
for his native city, Hull, until his death
1660 – King Charles II restored and Commonwealth
government dissolved
 had influence with Royalists to save John Milton’s life
 published verses satirizing political opponents and prose
pamphlets on issues of the day
 Marvell hated the king so much that friends feared he would put
them in jeopardy; rumors arose that Marvell was poisoned, but it’s
more likely that he died during a fever from lack of medical care
►
His housekeeper claimed to be his wife after his death and
sold his lyric poems to a publisher
Andrew Marvell
► Poetry
reflects admirable qualities of Renaissance
lyrical poetry
► Witty, ingenious metaphors
► Some poems light and graceful, but many are
deeper and more thoughtful
► Referred to as the “most major” of the minor
English poets
What a Line!
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by
again?
► Do I know you? ‘Cause you look a lot like my next
girlfriend.
► People call me John, but you can call me TONIGHT.
► I hope you know CPR because you take my breath away.
► I think you need a ticket because you’re looking FINE!
► Are you from Tennessee? You’re the only TEN I SEE!
► Can I have your picture so I can show Santa what I want
for Christmas?
► Do your feet hurt from running through my dreams all
night?
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“To His Coy Mistress”
Reading notes
► The word coy comes from the Latin word quietus, meaning
“to become quiet.” Today coy suggests a certain deliberate
flirtatiousness, a meaning Marvell would not have
employed.
► The word mistress at the time this poem was written did not
mean a sexual partner like it does today; it was closer to the
term girlfriend used now.
► T.S. Eliot praised the “variety and order” of Marvell’s
images, noting the “high speed, the succession of
concentrated images,” and then way each image magnifies
the original idea. He took Marvell’s words “Let us roll all
our strength and all / Our sweetness up into one ball” and
in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” wrote, “To have
squeezed the universe into a ball / To roll it towards some
overwhelming question . . . ”