To the Virgins to Make Much of Time, by Robert Herrick
This may be the
most famous
carpe diem
poems.
Its first line is a
CODA, or
summary, of the
"live for today"
philosophy.
The speaker
warns that time
flies and youth
fades.
For these reasons,
he says, young
women should
marry quickly
before they lose
the chance.
To His Coy Mistress, by Andrew Marvell
The speaker uses
hyperbole to
describe the
extreme lengths
to which he
would go to
express his love-IF there was
enough time to
do so.
He employs the
"winged chariot"
image to remind
his mistress of
death and decay.
The speaker uses
a challenging
and defiant tone
to urge his
mistress to live
for pleasure.
Porphyria’s Lover, by Robert Browning
This dramatic monologue
opens with a description of
the setting (according to
the speaker): a violently
windy/rainy night.
The speaker waits for
Porphyria; then describes
her entrance and her loving
embrace.
He strangles her to make
her his forever, imagining
she welcomes this as a
release from unwanted
bonds.
The speaker notices God
has not reacted to the
deed.
Still, he complains that
although she worships him,
she is too weak to commit
herself to him totally.
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, by Christopher Marlowe
In this pastoral, the Shepherd urges his love to
"Come live with me and."
He describes some of the pleasures of the
countryside that he and his love will enjoy, and
he lists things he will make for her, including a
cap of flowers and slippers with golden buckles.
He promises shepherds will dance and sing for
her delight each morning.
The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd, by Sir Walter Raleigh
The clever nymph says
not every shepherd is
honest.
She resonds to the
pleasures and gifts that
were offered by speaking
of reality.
She ends by saying she
might be persuaded IF
youth and love lasted
forever.
For example, she says
rivers rage; they are not
always calm. Flowers
fade; they are not always
beautiful.
Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley
This sonnet is a haunting
reflection of the transience
of earthly power.
The first speaker quotes a
desert traveler who came
upon the ruins of a
monument to Ozymandias,
a pharaoh in ancient Egypt.
The traveler, in turn,
quotes the ruler's boastful
inscription on the
monument's pedestal.
Amid the ruins, the
inscription becomes an
ironic comment on the
vanity of human ambition.
The only powerful thing
that remains is the
expression the scuptor
captured on the statue's
face, but even that the
sand and wind are in the
process of destroying.
The last line suggests the
irony of the situation: "The
lone and level sands" will
eventually erase the
artist's, as well as the
pharaoh's, bid for
immortality.
Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave, by Thomas Hardy
The speaker, a dead
woman, asks if the digger
on her grave is her lover,
but she is told he has just
married another.
She asks if her kin are
digging, but she is told
they see no point in
tending her grave.
She asks if it's her enemy
who digs, but she is told
her enemy no longer
thinks about her.
She finally learns the
digger is her dog, merely
buring a bone.
Holy Sonnet 10, by John Donne
The speaker
taunts Death,
asserting Death
itself will die-because death
is the soul's
deliverance into
eternal life.
Death is also
described as a
slave of "fate,
chance, kings,
and desperate
men."
Therefore,
Death can
inflict only a
temporary
"sleep"; the
soul will
awaken, live
eternally, and
defeat Death.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas
The speaker urges his father not to submit
quietly to death, contending that people
near death should struggle against it.
He asserts those with true wisdom, even
though they know death is inevitable, rage
against dying.
He looks for a sign that his father, at the end
of his life, will challenge death, whether
through cursing, blessing, or crying.
Federigo’s Falcon, by Giovanni Boccaccio
The nobelman Federigo is so in
love with Monna Giovana, a
virtuous married woman, that
he impoverishes himself trying
to win her and is forced to move
to a small farm w/ one one
"valuable" possession, a falcon.
After Monna Giovanna's
husband dies, she and her
son move near Federigo,
where the boy grows fond
of the falcon. When the
boy becomes ill, he asks
his mother for the falcon.
Monna Giovanna
reluctantly goes to
Federigo and offers to
dine with him.
Honored, Federigo
kills the falcon to
serve as a meal
worthy of her.
The mood is elevated later
when Monna Giovanna
marries Federigo, whose
noble gesture has won her
heart.
Monna Giovanna
makes the request.
Federigo, devastated,
explains the situation.
The sad irony of the
event is intensified
when Monna
Giovanna's son dies.