Name: _______________________________________ Period _____
Date _____________
McGlaughlin
RENAISSANCE POETRY PACKET
Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)
During his lifetime, Andrew Marvell was known for his political activities rather than his poetry. After
receiving a degree from Cambridge University, he traveled abroad for several years before returning to
England in 1650 to tutor the daughter of the Parliamentary general Lord Fairfax. Three years later, Marvell
became tutor to Oliver Cromwell’s ward, William Dutton.
Marvell showed an extraordinary adaptability in a turbulent time. Although he was the son of a Puritan
minister and frowned on the abuses of the monarchy, he enjoyed close friendships with supporters of
Charles I in the king’s dispute with Parliament. He also opposed the government of Oliver Cromwell, leader
of the Puritan rebellion and then ruler of England.
In 1657 he became an assistant to John Milton, the Latin secretary for the Parliamentary government, and
in 1659 was himself elected to membership in Parliament, an office he held until his death. After the
Restoration, he seems to have been influential in securing Milton’s deliverance from prison and from
possible execution.
Marvell’s poetry was not published until after his death, and his true talent as a poet was not fully
recognized until the 20th century.
Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
coyness (n) shyness; aloofness, often as part of a
flirtation
To walk, and pass our long love’s day.
5
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Ganges: a great river of northern India
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood,
And you should if you please refuse
10
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
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Humber: a river of northern England, flowing
through Marvell’s hometown
Vaster than empires, and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
15
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
20
state: dignity
Nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near:
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
25
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing songs; then worms shall try
That long-preserved virginity,
And your quaint honor turn to dust,
30
And into ashes all my lust:
The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
35
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,
amorous (adj) full of love or desire
Rather at once our time devour
40
Than languish in his slow-chapped power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life:
45
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
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languish (v) to become weak; droop
Robert Herrick (1591–1674)
As a young man, Robert Herrick tried his hand at goldsmithing, the family trade, before attending
Cambridge University when he was twenty-two. There he earned two degrees and, a few years later, was
ordained as a priest. Herrick was an active member of London society. He loved the city and was
disappointed when assigned to a rural church in Devonshire. Here, he performed his churchly duties and
wrote religious verse and musical love poems.
Although not politically active, Herrick was evicted from his parish by the Puritans and allowed back only
with the Restoration of Charles II. While barred from his church, Herrick returned to his native and beloved
London, where he published some of his poetry in 1648.
Unfortunately, because of the civil war, society was not very interested in Herrick’s light, playful verse, and
his work was not much appreciated until the 19th century.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
5
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
10
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And, while ye may, go marry;
15
For, having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
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Critical Reading
1. Respond: If you were the lady, how would you respond to the speaker? Why?
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2. (a) Recall: Name three things the speaker and his mistress would do and the time each
would take if time were not an issue.
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(b) Connect: How do these images relate to the charge the speaker makes against his lady
in lines 1–2?
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3. (a) Infer: Why would the speaker be willing to spend so much time waiting for his mistress?
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(b) Interpret: How does this willingness take the sting out of his complaint?
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4. (a) Analyze: What future does the speaker foresee for himself and his love in lines 25–30?
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(b) Connect: How do the images in lines 21–30 answer the images in the first part of the poem?
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5. Draw Conclusions: Why does the speaker save the urgent requests in lines 33–46 for
the end?
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Critical Reading
1. Respond: How did you respond to Herrick’s images?
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2. (a) Recall: What advice does the speaker give women in lines 1–4?
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(b) Interpret: What does the advice mean?
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(c) Analyze: How do the images he uses convey the idea of passing time?
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3. (a) Interpret: What does the poem suggest about passing time?
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b) Connect: How does the last stanza answer these concerns?
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4. Hypothesize: What response could an opponent offer Herrick?
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“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick
Read the following passage. Pay special attention to the
underlined words. Then, read it again, and complete the
activities in the sidebar.
Charles I was born in 1600, the second son of James I and
Anne of Denmark. In his childhood he was a sickly and
stammering child, but in his prime he was an excellent
horseman and a strong-willed king.
Upon becoming king of England in 1625, Charles I
immediately found himself in great trouble – his father had left
the kingdom with vast financial and political problems. Charles’s
own marriage to the French Roman Catholic princess Henrietta
Maria alarmed Protestant England.
At first, Charles was cold to his wife. For example, he would
not let her French servants tarry forever in England but sent
them home. Later, however, he grew close to his queen.
Echoing the French fashions that pleased her, he spent huge
sums on the arts and his court, causing further concern among
his people.
Charles faced a Parliament hostile to his concept of
absolute rule – a subject he was never mute about – and King
and Parliament quarreled on numerous occasions. Tired of the
ongoing strife, Charles dissolved Parliament three times and
ruled eleven years without it. In 1642, Charles’s financial and
political troubles led to a civil war pitting English King against
English Parliament.
In 1647, Charles was taken prisoner by the forces of
Parliament. Tried for treason and found guilty, he was
beheaded on January 30, 1649 and buried in a vault beneath
Windsor Castle. A week after Charles’s death, the office of king
was abolished.
For some, the lack of an English monarch was a unique
disaster. A true royalist believes that the soul of a nation lives in
its king, and that this soul transpires from his body with his last
breath; the nation’s soul can only find a home in the new
monarch. For Charles’s opponents, however, the soul of the
nation was in its people. For them, the end of English monarchy
was an astonishing opportunity for democracy.
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1. Circle the phrase that
means something opposite
to “in his prime.”
In a complete sentence,
explain whether you are in
your prime.
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2. Underline the synonym
for vast.
Name something else that is
vast.
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3. Underline the phrase that
shows that the servants did
not tarry.
What does tarry mean?
4. Circle the words that tell
what Charles spent huge
sums echoing.
5. Circle the words that tell
what Charles was never
mute about.
6. Underline the word that is
a clue to the meaning of
strife.
7. Underline the word that
indicates the location of a
vault.
What would a vault look
like inside?
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8. Circle the word that is a
clue to the meaning of
transpires.
“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick
Literary Analysis: Carpe Diem Theme
Examples of the theme of carpe diem, which is Latin for “seize the day,” can be found throughout world
literature. Robert Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins” contains lines that are frequently cited as an example of this
theme.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
The metaphor of the rosebuds is a particularly appropriate symbol for the carpe diem theme. The rose is one of
the most beautiful of flowers, yet it lives only a short time.
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. In the opening lines of “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” Herrick uses the image of rosebuds as a
symbol of the carpe diem theme. What other things does he use as a symbol?
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2. In the opening lines from “To His Coy Mistress,” the speaker implies that coyness is a crime. How does the
speaker use the carpe diem theme to justify this implication?
Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness lady were no crime.
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3. What other lines from “To His Coy Mistress” reinforce the carpe diem theme? Give one example.
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4. In “To His Coy Mistress,” what is the speaker’s purpose in trying to convince his listener that life is short?
Use an example from the poem to support your statement.
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