Robert Herrick

(1591-1674)

Ellen Church, Allen Lasher,

Jessica Rollins, Tess

Shymanski

Bio

gra

phy

Father passed away in

1592 Mother never remarried Inspired by Ben Johnson In 1623 Herrick took

holy orders

To the Virgins to Make Much of Time

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old time is still a-flying :

And this same flower that smiles to-day

To-morrow will be dying.

To the Virgins to Make Much of Time

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.

To the Virgins to Make Much of Time

That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer ;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Times still succeed the former.

To the Virgins to Make Much of Time

Then be not coy, but use your time,

And while ye may go marry :

For having lost but once your prime

You may for ever tarry.

Description of the Poem

Cavalier Poem

Theme: Seize the day

Rhyme Scheme: abab cdcd efef ghgh

Flowing rhythm

Anaphora (l. 5-7).

Alliteration (l. 12).

Medieval Language (ye, be not)

Personification (l. 3).

Metaphor (l. 2,4,5).

Snapple

Fact

s

Graduated from Cambridge in 1617

Herrick never married

but he had 14 “lady friends” He was the 7 child

At age 16 he was apprentice to his uncle

Work

s C

ited

Herrick, Robert. "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time." McDougal

Littell Literature: British Literature. New

York: McDougal Littell,

2008. 526. Print. "Robert Herrick."

Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.