The poem
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may: Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles to-day, To-morrow will be dying.
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.
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.
--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.
Although Herrick’s poem was written during the politically and socially conservative era of the sixteen hundreds, I believe his poem is discouraging female chastity. He writes that virgins may be “of smiles today…but tomorrow will be dying.” He is urging them to make haste and put to use the time they have while they are in their prime, writing, “the sooner his race be run…the nearer he is to setting.” The gender of whom he is addressing is unclear, as virginity was and still is generally seen as a woman’s issue, since women are often looked down upon for engaging in premarital sex.
Danielle--ur wrong
this poem is telling everyone-all the youth-not to waste time and to live your life to the fullest. the word "virgin" is in fact not used today as it was earlier in history-we talked about this in my english class-virgin means he is talking to those who have not yet experienced much of life.
to the virgins
one theme that this poem brings across is the CARPE DIEM theory.this theory exresses the philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and the need to make very good use of our youthful stage for which we are energetic, attractive and appealing.
To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time
This poem is about living our lives to the fullest one. The poet in this poem is trying to say to us youth to use our time in having fun because we are still in our prime. We must not waste our time so that we will not regrets when time comes...