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Kera Dukes

Dr. Alice Blackwell

ENGL 3020

November 30, 2022

The Presence of Carpe Diem in Poetry

Using the poems “The Relic,” “To His Coy Mistress,” and “To the Virgins, to Make

Much of Time” we can compare and contrast the carpe diem arguments of Donne, Marvell, and

Herrick, respectively. Carpe diem is defined as the urge to make the most of one's life despite

what little time on Earth there is. “The Relic” describes the spiritual connection formed through

pure love and how the speaker cherishes it. Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” talks about how we

must enjoy our lives before the bitter end. In “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by

Herrick, we are told that to remain virgins forever means to miss out on life’s splendors and that

we must hurry before our lives degenerate. Each author’s use of the motif “carpe diem” advances

their own idea of what makes life worthwhile and what we should do to achieve this.

Love is transcendent to time and in order to savor it, we must live in the present. Donne’s

“The Relic,” tells the story of a man who keeps a bracelet of hair from his beloved, and with it,

he claims his body will decay, but the bracelet and his love will last beyond death. Because of

the permanence of the lock of hair, this makes a perfect analogy to everlasting love. The speaker

jokes about how their remains would be shown to royalty and how highly they would be thought

of. He remarks how they could be relics and saints to be worshiped by men and women:

Then he, that digs us up, will bring

Us to the bishop, and the king,

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To make us relics; then

Thou shalt be a Mary Magdalen (Donne 14-17)

Although there would be nothing left on the narrator’s skeleton after death, the bracelet would

stand out as a symbol of their pure love. The theme of decay bleeds into the idea of carpe diem in

that decay must first be acknowledged in order to appreciate one’s life and live it to the fullest.

However, hair does eventually break down in a corpse, as it deteriorates last, which can still

“serve as a synecdochical representation of the most advanced state of decay” (Sperry). Since

this poem is about the author’s eternal love for his beloved, one could say it is a reference to

carpe diem. It shows recognition of mortality, and with it, the urge to live in the moment for the

pleasures in life.

“To His Coy Mistress” wants young women to enjoy their lives and sexuality while they

are able before death comes around the corner. Marvell believes that women must hurry up and

create offspring before their bodies are unable to, whether that be because of the biological and

metabolic aging process or the decline in physical appearance: “The speaker desires extension in

time and space beyond the confines of the earthly life span. And I believe the means of its

achievement is that proposed in any number of earlier poems …[is] the procreation of offspring”

(Halli). This is similar to Donne’s message in “The Relic.” However, instead of glorifying an

innocent and platonic love like Donne, Marvell is taking things a step beyond that. Marvell’s

view is more materialistic because he thinks that in order to get the most from life, one must

produce offspring. However, he does believe there is a place in the world for love, but time is

running out. He believes that women should not wait forever before having sex. They should

explore their sexuality before death comes to take their virginity:

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My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long-preserved virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust; (Marvell 28-30)

Marvell talks about death with the same morbidity as Donne. Death is rapidly approaching. It is

grotesque and ready to steal the maidens’ virginities. Death strips away our physical forms and

our human instincts. “To His Coy Mistress” employs the idea of carpe diem through Marvell’s

warnings that we should use our bodies while we still can before our luster dulls and our bodies

cease to function.

Similar to “To His Coy Mistress,” Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of

Time” takes a cheekier approach to the idea that yes, we will all ferment six feet below one day,

but we must make the most of our time on Earth first. We must enjoy what God has given us,

such as sexual and romantic love. It is also important to note the similarities that all three poems

display: the impending cloud of death lingering above our heads.

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying. (Herrick 1-4)

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The young virgins, referred to as rose buds, are told that tomorrow is not promised. We all know

death is coming, which is why it is described as “Old Time” flying by. The fourth line cuts off

with a burst of reality; this is an urgent message. Unlike “To His Coy Mistress,” Herrick’s “To

the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” implements Christian values, which sets it apart from the

freer and more careless poem. According to Wendy Perkins’ Critical Essay on “To the Virgins,

to Make Much of Time,” “Typically in carpe diem poems, the impetus for the speaker's urging of

young women to embrace their sexuality is his own pleasure as well as theirs, or it becomes an

end in itself. However, in ‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,’ while the speaker advises his

listeners not to be coy and withdraw from sexual experience, he urges them to marry before they

lose their virginity” (Perkins). Perkins’ view that the “impetus for the speaker's urging of young

women to embrace their sexuality is his own pleasure as well as theirs” is worth noting because

it provides insight on what Herrick could be trying to convey–subconsciously or not–through his

writing. Is he perhaps promoting the idea that women should get married and procreate for

selfish means?

In each of the three poems, we can see how each author clearly draws from the idea of

carpe diem, or the urge to live life in a fulfilling way. Each poet has a unique way of expressing

the qualms of their mortality and does so insightfully. Donne’s “The Relic,” talks about how

valuable we are spiritually, and that our love lasts for all time. In “To His Coy Mistress,” Marvell

urges young women to explore their sexuality before it is too late. Likewise, Herrick’s “To the

Virgins, to Make Much of Time” explores a more Christian theme in Marvell’s poem. We must

eventually settle down and get married, or we risk regret and meaningless death. Death follows

us everywhere, and one of the only ways to make our short lives worth living is by accepting our

eventual demise and by experiencing life’s opportunities while we can.

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Works Cited

Halli, Robert W., Jr. "The persuasion of the Coy Mistress." Philological Quarterly, vol. 80,

no. 1, winter 2001, pp. 57+. Gale Literature Resource Center,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A92907174/LitRC?u=lln_alsua&sid=bookmark-

LitRC&xid=7c334017. Accessed 30 Nov. 2022.

Perkins, Wendy. "Critical Essay on 'To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time'." Poetry for

Students,

edited by Elizabeth Thomason, vol. 13, Gale, 2001. Gale Literature Resource Center,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420037683/LitRC?u=lln_alsua&sid=bookmark-

LitRC&xid=83637b03. Accessed 30 Nov. 2022.

Sperry, Eileen M. "Decay, Intimacy, and the Lyric Metaphor in John Donne." Studies in English

Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 59, no. 1, winter 2019, pp. 45+. Gale Literature Resource

Center,link.gale.com/apps/doc/A578273780/LitRC?u=lln_alsua&sid=bookmark-LitRC&

xid=405784f1. Accessed 1 Dec. 2022.

Wolfson, Susan, et al. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Pearson Longman, 2012.