Paper Example. Poetry Research

Poems are essential and can educate people about various issues in life. Besides, poets have a way of sending their message humorously. Poems improve how people perceive things by helping them to think deeply about life. Nonetheless, not all people have the knowledge to read and interpret poetry. Therefore, comparing two poetic works can help an individual to understand the various techniques that are used in poetry. The poem To the Virgins to Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick and the poem To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell can be analyzed to show how poets use poetic techniques to educate people.

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Similarities

Both poems are carpe diems and can be of considerable significance to the readers. According to Shelley (2018), poetry can reveal the beauty in the world and poets use it as a tool of expressing beauty. In this case, both poets have used themes to send their message to the readers. For instance, Herrick has focused on the issue of love in his poem to educate people on the need to love one another, and the significance of marrying while love and flesh are still young. On the other hand, Marvell has focused on love by showing the need to enjoy the time we now have and love each other.

The impact of poetry can be felt far and wide since it is influential. Therefore, the theme of love can be explored by many readers of these poems. For instance, the phrase by Marvell that talks about the wish to love ten years before the storm can reveal the theme of love in the poem. Herrick argues that gather your rose buds while you may. Thus, one can relate love with the rose buds and the need to express love to other people when one can. Additionally, Herrick encourages virgins to ensure that they engage in long-lasting commitments in marriage before they get old. Human beings are social beings, and from this nature, love sprouts almost impulsively. Consequently, many poets have used the theme of love to educate readers on various aspects associated with love.

As aforementioned, both poems are carpe diems. Consequently, the writers have primarily focused on time and the need for one to seize a moment since time is short. The importance of utilizing time comes out clearly in the poem To His Coy Mistress as the narrator uses past tense making it sound like he is regretting. "Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime. We would sit down, and think which way To walk, and pass our long love's day" (Marvel line 1-4). In this case, Marvell shows that the mistress coyness would not be a crime, but the limited time is what made her coyness to be a crime. Therefore, one can learn that the narrator is lamenting the shortness of time in this life.

On the extreme, Herrick has focused on the need for an individual to utilize time. "Gather ye rose-buds while ye may" (Line 1). The phrase can also show the need to do things when one has time. Besides, rose-buds are always young and beautiful, which shows the need for individuals to utilize their time when energetic. Furthermore, roses gradually wither and lose their beauty. Thus, the poems have revealed that time is an essential factor in an individual's life and should be utilized. After reading the two novels, one can learn the bottom line is that there is no time for both the coy mistress and the virgins.

A pragmatic stance can also be revealed from both poems since both writers have brought facts about the brevity of life. Poetry depicts how different people are affected by various issues in life (Preminger). Thus, the pragmatic stance can educate readers about the reality of life. For example, Marvell goes overboard to get his coy mistress from her gratification and make her see the fact of life and the shortness of time. Also, the pragmatic stance adopted by Marvell can be revealed since he shows how the beauty of the mistress will fade after some time, which is a fact of life. Typically, people grow old, and their energy declines and beauty fades with age. "Thy beauty shall no more be found/ Nor in thy marble Vault, shall sound My echoing song/ then worms shall try That long-preserved virginity" (Line 25 -28). Thus, the poet has used poetic techniques to show the shortness of life and how people change with time. Moreover, the use of the sun in the two poems can also be used to show the shortness of life since the sun rises in the morning, and as the day goes by, the sun sets.

Herrick has also adopted a pragmatic stance in his poem, where he talks about the glorious lamp of heaven as the sun and how it will eventually finish his race. In this case, the narrator educates readers about how people fail to utilize their time and end up dying. Besides, he warns the virgins to make much of their time before they die. "And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying" (Herrick line3-4). Therefore, the poet has used his poetic approach to inform readers about life and how precious life is. Nevertheless, both narrators have given solutions to their subjects. For example, Herrick urges virgins to make good use of their time and marry. Marvell also provides a solution where he calls people to roll off their strength and all the sweetness on one ball.

Differences

There are some differences between the two poems. For instance, the choice of words varies, whereby Herrick has used polite words when addressing the virgins, and Marvell words are abrasive. The other outstanding difference entails the structure of the two poems. The poem To His Coy Mistress is not arranged in any regular stanzas, while the poem To the Virgins consists of four stanzas that contain four lines each.

Conclusion

To conclude, these poems are carpe diems, and the narrators have accentuated the need to utilize time. Readers can learn that life is short, and one should seize any moment. Also, the authors have used different themes to educate readers. For instance, the issue of love has been used to show the importance of loving one another. Poetic techniques are also essential as they make a poem more fascinating. Therefore, both poets have used poetic approaches to make the poems more exciting and educative. Reading poems can help an individual to develop his or her learning skills. Thus schools should encourage students to learn about poetry. Besides, poetry helps an individual to gain excellent communication skills. Thus students can focus on poetry to improve their communication skills and become good speakers. In essence, poetry opens the mind of the readers, and both poems can help a reader to gain essential knowledge concerning life.

Works Cited

Herrick, Robert. "To the virgins, to make much of time." The Norton anthology of poetry (1963): 211-212.

Marvell, Andrew, and Tony Harrison. To his coy mistress. ProQuest LLC, 2004.

Preminger, Alex. Princeton encyclopaedia of Poetry and poetics. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2016.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. A defence of poetry and other essays. B&R Samizdat Express, 2018.