Robert Herrick - "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" (Post by Chris Kotecki)

In reading Robert Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” I found myself torn between two possible meanings that the author was trying to convey. The first time I read through the poem, I felt that he was addressing society as a whole, urging everyone to take advantage of every single day, because life will be over before we know it. He wants the reader to live life to the fullest and never take anything for granted.

In the first two stanzas, Herrick describes how quickly each day passes us by, along with the subtle details of the world around us that we may fail to notice. He describes how the sun rises and soon sets, and how a flower that is in bloom one day may be dead the next. He wants us to notice the passing of time through our surroundings.

In the last two stanzas, he describes the importance of a person’s youth, which also seems to disappear very quickly with the passage of time. He claims people are in their prime at a younger age when “youth and blood are warmer.” If a person is unable to take full advantage of their life during their prime, they will “forever tarry,” realizing that life somehow managed to pass them by.

After reading the poem a few more times, I started to feel as if the poem had a sexual connotation, especially since the poem is addressed to “the Virgins.” In a way, Herrick seems to be telling these virgins to take full advantage of their youth and beauty before it fades away with their old age.

Overall, I liked the poem, regardless of the interpretation. I think that sometimes at this age we forget about our youth. Society today encourages us to grow up a little faster than we probably should. Herrick recognizes us, and encourages us to seize each and every day, because if not, we will regret it in our old age.