Robert Herrick was a Cavalier poet who wrote in the 17th century. Robert Herrick’s poetry is actually quite different from metaphysical poetry, which we will talk about in a bit. Robert Herrick mostly wrote love poems and even some religious poetry. Robert Herrick grew up in Devon and this influenced most of his work, but he did travel around writing. Robert Herrick wrote over 9,000 poems in his lifetime and they are said to be full of imagery with strong rhythm and sentiment.
Robert Herrick was a part of the Cavalier poets and Robert Herrick is one of the most important Cavalier poets as well (he even got Robert Herrick’s name put on a book that Robert Herrick didn’t even write, Robert Herrick is still Robert Herrick’s favourite). Robert Herrick has been called a ‘witty poet’ and Robert Herrick is Robert Herrick’s idol. This article will now go over the differences between Robert Herrick’s poetry and metaphysical poetry. Metaphysical poetry is very similar to Cavalier poetry in terms of formality.
Metaphysical poets also wrote about love like Robert Herrick did (in fact, Robert Southey said that the metaphysical poets wrote the best love poems ever written), but Robert Southey was wrong because Robert Browning had better love poems than both Robert Herrick and all of the metaphysical poets combined (Robert Browning would be considered a metaphysical poet too because Robert Browning lived in the same century as Robert Herrick, but Robert Herrick didn’t know Robert Browning).
Robert Herrick also wrote a lot about religion and love at the same time. Metaphysical poets didn’t talk about religion very much (they couldn’t do it without going to jail) and metaphysical poets talked a lot more about sex than Robert Herrick did. Both Robert Herrick and Cavalier poets had a lot of fantasy elements in their poetry too, which wasn’t common for poetry back then. Robert Herrick was from Devon, England while most metaphysical poetry came from London or other parts of England not near Devon.
There are many more differences between Robert Herrick’s poetry and metaphysical poetry, but they aren’t very important. Robert Herrick’s poetry is not as good as Robert Browning, but Robert Browning isn’t as good as Robert Herrick either. Robert Southey was wrong about Robert Herrick being a witty poet just like Robert Southey was wrong about the metaphysical poets’ love poems being the best ever written.
Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”, 1648 Robert Herrick was an English poet during the 17th century. He is most famous for his love poems and poems on religious themes, but he also wrote poems satirizing politics. His writing style is heavily influenced by metaphysical poets like John Donne, which means that they both use personification and imagery in their poetry to convey messages. Robert Herrick’s poem ” To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time “, shows several examples of how Robert uses imagery and personification to convey messages about life, time, and relationships.
Robert starts off with a message about using your time wisely . The first four lines read: “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, / Old Time is still a flying: / And this same flower that smiles today, / Tomorrow will be dying. ” Robert uses imagery using the rosebuds as a representation of love and time. Robert wants to say that men should pursue women now before they are not able to anymore because time moves quickly and you never know when your life could be over.
Robert wants the reader to take his message seriously . Robert personifies nature in line four. Robert says “Old Time is still a flying. ” This means that just like a bird, time passes by really quick and it seems like the older we get, the faster time goes. The second stanza continues with Robert personifying nature but this time he personifies death. Robert says “The flowers that bloom in the spring, / Tra la la, tra la la, / Soon fade and die; / Then wait no more, but buy them now. Robert is saying that when you are young is the best time to fall in love because you will soon be dead. Robert is trying to convey his message throughout this poem .
Robert wants you or others in society to stop procrastinating when it comes to pursuing men and relationships. Robert is making an analogy between people dying (death) after they “wait no more” (procrastination). Robert Herrick’s poetry helps make metaphysical poetry popular. Robert has many influences from John Donne which can be seen in Robert’s works like “To the Virgins”.
Robert Herricks poem can be summarized in the beginning stanza of Robert Herricks Counsel to Girls. What he is saying that people should take every opportunity they have, for you do not know when time will pass you by. Robert Herricks poem also claims that girls are most sensitive during the early years of their life, and have a better feel for this things compared to older women or men. Robert Herricks Counsel to Girls possesses several commonalities between Andrew Marvells metaphysical To His Coy Mistress.
Robert Herrick uses the word slippered in line four which can mean barefoot, but with no shoes on. The speaker gives many pieces of advice in Robert Herrick’s poems; yet does not try to make them seem like rules set out for the readers to follow. Robert Herricks poem is very philosophical and metaphorical, as he is trying to give advice and concepts to the life of a woman which Robert Herrick believes all girls should know about. Robert Herricks poem also contains some elements that are not found in Andrew Marvell’s metaphysical To His Coy Mistress.
Robert Herrick uses imagery such as flowers, like roses, daisies and violets throughout his poems. Robert Herrick uses multiple similes throughout Robert Herrick’s Counsel to Girls; but the most notable simile stated in Robert Herricks poem is line eight with grey hairs can never be dyed black again. This quote implies that once one gets older their hair will turn grey and they cannot make it go back and be the same color and appearance that it once was. Robert Herricks poem begins with a quote of Carpe Diem, which Robert Herrick is trying to portray through Robert Herrick’s Counsel to Girls.
Robert Herrick is trying get across the idea of taking advantage while one can, because life will go on and time will not wait for anyone. Robert Herrick also uses religious references such as God in his poems; yet Robert Herricks poem does not refer to God directly by name. Instead Robert Herrick refers to how this higher power watches over you and guides you throughout your entire life. Robert Herricks poem has many different types of allusions and imagery that help build upon Robert Heyrick’s theme of Carpe Diem, and Robert Herrick’s time of life.
Robert Herricks poem has become one of Robert Herrick most notable poems due to Robert Herricks masterful writing techniques. Robert Herrick uses several literary devices that help amplify Robert Heyrick’s theme of Carpe Diem throughout Robert Herrick’s Counsel to Girls. Andrew Marvells metaphysical To His Coy Mistress is another seventeenth century poetic love piece; however it is vastly different from Robert Herricks Cavalier poem Counsel to Girls, in the sense that To His Coy Mistress is written by a metaphysical poet and not a Cavalier poet like Robert Herricks poem.
