To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time is a poem written by Robert Herrick in the 17th century. The poem is in the genre of carpe diem, Latin for seize the day.

Theme: Carpe diem

First published in 1648 in a volume of verse entitled Hesperides, it is perhaps one of the most famous poems to extol the notion of carpe diem. Carpe diem expresses a philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and therefore the need to live for and in the moment. The phrase originates in Horace's Ode 1.11.

The opening line, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may", echoes the Latin phrase collige, virgo, rosas ("gather, girl, the roses"), which appears at the end of the poem De rosis nascentibus,[1] also called Idyllium de rosis, attributed to Ausonius or Virgil.

See also

References

  1. ^ De rosis nascentibus (in German), in a collection of the works of Virgil under the note Hoc carmen scripsit poeta ignotus ("An unknown poet wrote this poem").