Man believes that he has an infinite amount of time to spend his life and bases his habits and

daily routine on this assumption; nonetheless, death is unavoidable. Man may live for a lifetime, but it is
only flowers that die and return to the earth.

Cavendish’s Man’s Short life and Foolish Ambition opens with an immediate appeal to the
senses by referring to the ‘sweet’ gardens and described how spring easily transcend to wilting. From
this viewpoint, we can easily grasp the message of this poem in connection of wilting spring to man’s
short life—its briefness. Alongside with its comparison with flower and how fast a life can end like a
flower blooming and wither on the next day. Men are naive to believe that they would live forever, but
in the end, they have no control over death. He wants to live, but he isn't concerned about suffering. He
may strive to live forever and build his life in such a way, but he will finally succumb.

Cavendish continues to explore the senses with extravagant imagery for the eyes with ‘Houses,
thick, and strong, and high’ that depicts how a man builds a house that would last longer that his life. On
the middle portion of the poem, we can see how Cavendish described the desire of man on hoards up a
‘mass of wealth, yet cannot fill his empty mind, but covet he will still’ to ‘or buy Heaven’s mansions—like
gods become, and by it, rule the stars, the moon, and sun’. This explicated Cavendish’s message that no
matter how many possessions or accomplishments a man has, his desires can never be quenched.
While the latter part deliberately explains how men have misguided ambitions that deal with fame and
turn a blind eye to the true meaning of the word "care."That are shown from ‘and care in life is a great
misery.’ ‘This care is for a word, an empty sound” to ‘All horrid Pains, and Death they will endure, Or
anything that can but fame procure.’ The last two lines demonstrated how humans only live for a
fraction of the time that the earth does, yet their entire mindset is centered on the society around them
and the things that are valuable at the moment. Their ambition grows so voraciously that their lives
become meaningless as they devote their attention to worldly possessions rather than something more
important and vital.

In conclusion, various actions that reflect man's greed and desire are listed at the end of this
poem. We construct substantial and large homes as though we intend to live in them indefinitely. We
collect vast sums of money and continue to desire more. No one can avoid death, Cavendish says,
despite our burning drive and desire to do great things. We can take medicine and endure excruciating
pain, but we will die no matter what we do. Even with all of our money and accomplishments, we all die
and become a part of the earth in the end. We can all fly to incredible heights, even to the moon, but we
all return to earth.