Poetry Essay

Time is of the essence. That seems to be a issue of utter importance to Robert Herrick in "To the Virgins, Make much of time" and Andrew Marvell in "To His Coy Mistress," but to what means? It would only be love, or perhaps a carnal desire, that would have a force strong enough to fight the perpetuity of time. The poems carry out the same message, Carpe Diem, that time is to short to waste and that what is left must be ceased now. Though this message seems clear to be purely carnal, it is deeply shadowed in metaphor to make it appear otherwise. No matter how much they attempt to hide the fact, both Herrick and Marvell set out to establish a sense of urgency, a need to cease the day and convince those who they desire that the time they have together is quickly withering away.