How poets in the anthology viewed the concept of time Essay Example

if youth and love endured, would she consider living with and loving the Passionate Shepherd.

The theme of time's negative impact on love is a popular concept in poetry of this time period. This idea is established early on in the opening line of the poem. 'To His Coy Mistress' also utilizes this technique. Similar to Shakespeare's portrayal in 'The Nymph's Reply', time is personified as a future grim reaper that affects all things beautiful. While Shakespeare agrees with this interpretation, he conveys that the love he describes can endure this fate, unlike the love of the Shepherd.

The use of alliteration in line 5 of 'The Nymph's Reply' implies the constant flow of time, while the repetition of the word "soon" in line 15 highlights time's inevitable destructive nature. Some have argued that the poem criticizes how time has eroded love's spiritual purity and that material possessions and the trappings of love have become more important. However, this interpretation risks removing the poem from its historical context. 'The Sun Rising' by John Donne also explores the themes of love and its connection to time in this collection of poems.

In the opening stanza of the poem, Donne introduces his argument that lovers should not be bound by the constraints of time. He believes that while the rest of the world is subject to time's reminders, love and lovers are not. This viewpoint aligns with that expressed in 'Sonnet 116', which states that love is not influenced by Time. However, Donne does not mention how time affects the love between the couple or their physical appearance.

The metaphysical poets embrace the idea that love originates from the soul, which

is exemplified in Andrew Marvell's poem 'To His Coy Mistress'. Though the explicit argument appears to focus on the fleeting nature of pleasure, there is a deeper underlying argument. Marvell employs exaggerated imagery of time, such as "hundred years... two hundred... thirty thousand... an age at least to each part", to convey his willingness to dedicate extensive time to exploring every inch of his lover's body, given unlimited time and resources. However, he refrains from doing so due to the constant reminder of the swift passing of time, as symbolized by "Time's winged chariot hurrying near".

This is a well-known way of representing time, but the poet's view of eternity as "Deserts of vast eternity" is nontraditional and very negative. This imagery connects space and time within the poem. Marvell mentions major past and future events, like "the flood" and "the conversion of the Jews," in an effort to slow time's progression. Some describe this poem as one of "lust" rather than love.

The text emphasizes the contrast between superficial attraction and true love in lines 25-27, as seen in 'The Nymph's Reply' and 'Sonnet 116'; The beauty shall no more be found; Nor, in they marble vault, shall sound My echoing song;" The narrator is only interested in pursuing their lover while they are young and beautiful, comparing their attractiveness to the morning glow. However, once the lover dies, their beauty will be lost forever and the narrator will lose interest. "Desire is found to be quite as ruthless as time1". The speaker of this poem encourages embracing the present moment and defying time, suggesting to "make him run". The poem exemplifies the philosophy of 'carpe

diem'.

The concept of "seize the day," known as carpe diem in Latin, is particularly evident in the third stanza of the poem. This perspective sees time as a negative force but one that can be resisted. One popular interpretation of Robert Herrick's "To Daffodils" is that it is a carpe diem poem. Herrick used his poems to contemplate life, and this particular one compares people to daffodils and highlights the brevity of life. Additionally, Herrick discusses the deteriorating effect of time on beauty. Some have drawn similarities between this poem and another by Herrick called "To Virgins, to Make Much of Time."

This latter poem is undeniably similar to Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress', as it shares the concepts of Time and the transience of youth; a theme reinforced in the final quatrain: "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." 'To Daffodils' is categorized under the section of Metaphysical Poets in the anthology, despite Herrick being widely regarded as a Cavalier poet who wrote during the reign of Charles I. The cavalier poets were generally loyal to the monarchy.

The poems produced by a certain class of men during this time were courtly, genteel, and educated. These poems were light-hearted and secular. Many of the poems written during this period had a sense of impending death or decay, shadowing the history of war and persecution. They often embodied the carpe diem philosophy. Unlike Donne's poetry and that of many other Metaphysical poets, this poem by Herrick is more lyrical in nature and less focused on content.

The message

conveyed in 'To Daffodils' is the brevity of life, emphasizing that once it is lost, it can never be recovered. This message presents a contrasting perspective on death and eternal life depicted in 'Death, Be Not Proud'. Despite being renowned as one of the most prominent Metaphysical poets, John Donne incorporated his religious beliefs into his poetry. Interestingly, unlike Donne, Henry King's poem 'The Exequy' lacks a religious approach to death and mourning, which is remarkable given King's strong religious inclination, ultimately leading to his appointment as Bishop of Winchester.

'The Exequy' is a self-centered poem that focuses on the author's sadness after his wife's death. In line 12, the poem rejects the 'carpe diem' philosophy found in other poems in the anthology. Initially, time is depicted negatively, with the author lamenting how it slowly passes and how he measures the passing hours through his tears. This elegy is filled with metaphors for crying and tears, reflecting the chronological stages of mourning.

The initial stanzas of the poem center around the themes of crying and weeping, while later on, there is a shift towards reflection, sorrow, and a profound sense of loss. This progression mirrors the experience of grief. The poet's perception of time passing slowly is evident in lines 22 and 23: "Nor wonder if my time go thus Backward and most preposterous." These lines convey the notion that his life is moving in reverse, portraying a sluggishly paced existence. Employing macabre imagery, King anticipates death as a way to be reunited with his deceased wife.

He desires to meet you in the hollow vale, the valley of death. As a result, he sees time, in the

later part of the poem, as something positive that speeds him towards his objective. This perspective on death is different from the others presented in the collection, as it views death almost positively. While pondering death as a way to reunite with his incomplete heart, King thinks about the concept of eternity and affirms that if death were not eternal, even if it were just a month, a year, or ten years, he would live in exile until then. Eternity is often associated with time as the most optimal duration.

It is widely associated with religion and perceptions of heaven and hell, an afterlife for eternity. 'The World' by Henry Vaughan is described as a "wistful brooding over man's relations with the unseen and the eternal". The opening lines focus on eternity and the "great Ring". Vaughan displays knowledge of science and medieval astronomy, describing a geocentric universe where the "spheres" are the planets that orbit the earth and create time. He also implies that while earth follows the rules of time, there is no time in eternity.

Time is seen as a hindrance that limits the world, but there is a connection between time and eternity that cannot be denied. Vaughan acknowledges the existence of a barrier, or "veil," separating the two and attempts to overcome this divide through his poetry. He uses concrete imagery to depict abstract concepts, a common characteristic of Metaphysical poets. Similarly, Marvell employs this technique in "To His Coy Mistress" to visualize the passage of time. The anthology contains various interpretations of the concept of time through the poets and their poems.

These interpretations range from positive to negative to philosophical to

purely reflective. The presentation of time in the poems spanning different eras reveals the concerns of the age. Numerous early poems emphasize time's impact on love and youth, as they were written during a period when courtly love traditions were popular among poets. Love, being a common subject for poetry, is traditionally depicted as defying time, yet not all poems conform to this convention; some take a more realistic approach.

During the Metaphysical era, which was pioneered by John Donne, poetry became more intricate and abstract, while maintaining a logical argument. Time, along with concepts like eternity and death, was extensively explored as a complex and abstract imagery. However, the diverse range of imagery used by the Metaphysical poets resulted in multiple interpretations of time. The perception of time was largely influenced by its impact on another element, thus varying depending on the personal views of the poet.