MORTALITY
Life possesses beauty and youth, however, everything comes to an end. There comes a
time where even the fairest rose or the most powerful ruler must wither.
“WHEN
I WA S FA I R A N D YO U N G ”
QUEEN ELIZABETH I
MORTALITY
Page 7
 Summary: The speaker reveals her new found regret, after she realizes that beauty
and the aspects of youth do not last forever. It was after causing so many hurtful
rejections and neglecting that she comes to see the cold truth that even she would come
to fade in grace.
“But I the prouder grew, and still this spake therefore: Go, go, go, seem some otherwhere;
importune me no more”
 Speaker: Egotistical and regretful woman who advices the young to not waste their
golden years, such as she once did.
 Subject: To a young audience
Allusion
By
alluding to
her
encounter
with
Venus, it is
at this
point that
she comes
to loose
her pride
and gains
regret.
Punctuation
The constant use
of commas
empowers the
speakers words.
As the audience
reads it at a
slower pace, this
puts more
emphasis on her
emotions and
authority.
Tone: Regretful
The speaker realizes
that youth and beauty
should not lead to much
egotism, as it is only
temporary and will fade
inevitably.
MORTALITY
Repetition
The repetition of this
phrase throughout the
poem demonstrates
how determined,
prideful, and strong,
her personality is
through out her life.
MORTALITY
 Diction
The word “importune” emphasizes the pride and ego of the speaker, as it means to
bother or pester.
“When I was fair and young, and favour graced me,”
“Go, go, go, seek some otherwhere; importune me no more.”
In the first and last line of the first stanza, the speaker creates a connection between the
“favour [that once] graced [her]” and how it leads her to dismiss everyone who
approaches her about it. “Favour” and “importune” show a main cause and effect that
ultimately leads her to her remorse. Telling others to “importune [her] no more”
emphasizes her power over others and how they bother and pester her.
MORTALITY
 Metaphor
“I will so pluck your plumes as you shall say no more:
Go, go, go, seek some otherwhere; importune me no more.”
By describing how she will “pluck [her] plumes”, Venus is comparing the speaker to a bird of
much finery. The plumes represent her high class and how absorbed she is by it.
Threatening to “pluck them” highlights to what extent she is so caught up with herself, it
also leads you to foreshadow a new change that will be faced.
 Hyperbole
“That neither night or day I could take any rest”
 At first, the speaker is repetitive in saying how beautiful she is. However, in the last
stanza, she exaggerates how restless she is that at no point of the day can she sleep. This
creates contrast to what she initiated her speech with. It shows how much she regrets her
actions and how she can barely go on living regularly while carrying this weight inside of her.
MORTALITY
Through multiple literal and stylistic devices, the speaker
demonstrates her lifelong growing pride followed by new found
regret.
“ S O N G : G O , L O V E LY R O S E ! ”
E D M U N D WA L L E R
M O RTA L I T Y
 Page 6
 Summary: The speaker dedicates a rose to the woman he admires and compares her physical
aspects as well as her characteristics to that of the flower. He hopes it’ll open her eyes to the youth
and beauty that she has so that she can appreciate it before it is gone.
“How sweet and fair she seems to be.”
“Bid her come forth, suffer herself to be desired.”
 Speaker: Amorous and eager to bring awareness and guidance to the woman he admires.
 Subject: An oblivious woman who is the subject of a man’s affection.
 Tone: Persuasive
“Tell her that’s young, And shuns to have her graces spied, that hadst thou sprung, in deserts, where no
man abide.”
He is very specific as to what he wants to let her know, he proves it by being persistent to the rose about
carrying all these messages.
Personification
Speaker aims his
message directly
towards the rose, it
gives it the
characteristic of a
person who must
serve him as a
messenger. This
emphasizes that the
rose should be a
reminder of her
qualities and how it
also has a goal.
Metaphor: The
characteristics of a
rose are usually sweet
and beautiful. Just like
the rose, she has all its
qualities too. This
helps illustrate the
woman to the reader.
M O RTA L I T Y
.
Repetition
He begins by
complimenting
her and makes his
way towards
urging that she
understands his
message. When
repeating this
phrase at the end
it ties the poem
together to it’s
original idea, his
overall message,
that she is lovely
and he wants her
to understand it.
MORTALITY
 Diction
 “Tell her that’s young”
“Then die! That she
the common fate of all things rare
May read in thee,
how small a part of time they share
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!”
The poets diction throughout the poem posses authority and demand. By telling the rose
to “tell her” something, or to “then die” it highlights his persistence. By ordering the rose
to wither after all it has to live through, it’s like telling her that she too will fade and die
one day. She may be beautiful like a flower, but even that flower has to shrivel.
MORTALITY
Edmund Waller’s employment of literal and stylistic devices
throughout the poem emphasizes his appreciation for a woman and
her beauty, while encouraging her to make early use of it.