Chloe Pham

September 23, 2010

Kramer; 4th Period

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick, is a poem that recognizes

the fleeting nature of youth, and consequently warns those who are young to make the most of

the time you have.

In the first two stanzas, Herrick focuses on the inevitability of time and the subsequent

loss of youth. More specifically, he indirectly emphasizes that no one is invincible to the

passage of time and that ultimately everything with a beginning has an end. He uses reference to

a flower and the sun in lines 3-8 to exemplify this idea. While a flower represents something

harmless and innocent, and the sun represents something seemingly indestructible, the author

states that both will eventually reach an end. In the third stanza, the author warns that the best

time is always when you are young, and that times will only proceed to get worse: “But being

spent, the worse, and worst/Times still succeed the former.” This stanza describes the

consequence of wasted time. The fourth stanza is the Herrick’s direct plea to the reader to seize

the day and make the most of youth. He states that you shouldn’t be shy, and while you have the

time you should “go merry.” The last line states that “You may forever terry” if you don’t take

advantage of your prime; which is yet another warning that once you’ve lost your youth, you’ll

never be able to get it back.

This poem’s main idea is identical to that of the movie, Dead Poet’s Society. In this

movie, a group of students are encouraged by their professor, John Keating, to reject the status

quo and seize the day. Two boys in this film are under immense pressure from their parents to

pursue a certain career in spite their own conflicting aspirations; while under the teaching of
Keating, the boys learn that there’s no time to live a life in which you’re not happy, they learn to

follow their own dreams. In one quote, Keating tells the boys that “Boys, you must strive to find

your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all.”

The message of this quote is identical to that of the third stanza in which Herrick warns that age

will not make life easier, and that in fact, age will just make things more difficult.

In this poem, Herrick warns that time is fleeting and urges the reader to make the most of

youth. This idea is also reflected in the film, Dead Poet’s Society.

QUESTIONS
1. Rosebuds symbolize the potential of youth; young people should attain everything they
can while they’re still able to. The course of day symbolizes a lifetime. The author
mentions two possible meanings for “rosebud”: one meaning could be time and another
could be happiness or, “[going] merry.”
2. “Virgins” helps us interpret the symbol by suggesting that the symbol has something to
do with purity and youth. The rest of the title, “to Make Much of Time,” helps us narrow
down the symbol to mean something about time rather than purity. The word “virgin” is
better used than the word “maiden” because it implies that the individual being addressed
by the author has not yet experienced something; they are a “virgin” to life and have not
yet lived it completely.
3. Haste is necessary because time is not slowing down. In fact, the passage of time merely
makes things more difficult. The individual is dying.
4. The “worse, and worst times” are the times that follow youth—which could be
interpreted to mean middle age and subsequently old age. This is so because the speaker
notes that as “[age] is being spent, the worse and worst/Times still succeed the former.”
Middle and old age succeed youth.
5. “Smiles” is better than “blooms” because it indicates the happiness that accommodates
youth. “Race” is better than “course” because the word “race” suggests that the sun is
hastily going about life, not enjoying it nor living it to it’s fullest potential. “Spent” is
better than “used” because “spent” emphasizes the fact that the individual has
intentionally and consciously spent his time, making this act more condemnable. “Use” is
better than “spend” because “use” indicates that the individual should make the most of
his time and take advantage of it for different purposes, not merely to buy or attain
something.