Back in the seventeenth century, a woman’s responsibility was to preserve her virginity until marriage. A woman who had sexual intercourse before her wedding was considered undesirable and a slut. At the same time, men had sexual needs and desires that they wanted to fulfill, may they be married to the woman of their choice or not. Dealing with this issue of virginity and the concept of using time to its fullest (carpe diem—Latin for “seize the day”) are two of the most famous poems of this time. Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” as well as Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” have a similar opinion about how a woman should use her youth and virginity, but have different ideas about whether to get married first or not.
Table of Contents
1. Female Virginity and Male Desire in Seventeenth Century Carpe Diem Poetry
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The primary objective of this work is to analyze the thematic representations of female virginity and male desire within two foundational seventeenth-century "carpe diem" poems. The study explores how Robert Herrick and Andrew Marvell utilize religious imagery, nature, and the concept of fleeting time to influence or persuade their subjects, while highlighting the distinct societal expectations regarding marriage and sexuality in that era.
- Comparative literary analysis of "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" and "To His Coy Mistress."
- Examination of the "carpe diem" motif as a rhetorical strategy for seduction.
- Investigation of religious and pagan allegories used to justify male desires.
- Analysis of the historical societal pressures surrounding female virginity and marriage.
- Evaluation of stylistic devices, including pronouns and nature metaphors, in seventeenth-century poetry.
Excerpt from the Book
Female Virginity and Male Desire in Seventeenth Century Carpe Diem Poetry
Back in the seventeenth century, a woman’s responsibility was to preserve her virginity until marriage. A woman who had sexual intercourse before her wedding was considered undesirable and a slut. At the same time, men had sexual needs and desires that they wanted to fulfill, may they be married to the woman of their choice or not. Dealing with this issue of virginity and the concept of using time to its fullest (carpe diem—Latin for “seize the day”) are two of the most famous poems of this time. Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” as well as Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” have a similar opinion about how a woman should use her youth and virginity, but have different ideas about whether to get married first or not.
Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” is a poem of 16 lines composed in four stanzas, arranged in even stanzas of four lines each. The title indicates that the poem is addressed to “virgins,” meaning young, unmarried women. In the first stanza, the speaker tells the women to “gather ye rosebuds” (line 1) as long as they can, using the flower to symbolize the women’s beauty. It is also mentioned that “Old Time is still a-flying” (line 2). The use of “old” and “flying” is an oxymoron, because they contradict each other. Normally, something that is old is not really fast and especially not flying. At the end of the first stanza, the speaker points out that “this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying” (lines 3-4). Here he gets serious, saying that because time runs by fast, those flowers—and therefore the women’s beauty—will die and diminish soon.
Summary of Chapters
Female Virginity and Male Desire in Seventeenth Century Carpe Diem Poetry: This chapter provides a comparative analysis of Robert Herrick’s and Andrew Marvell’s famous poems, examining how both authors frame the urgency of love and sexuality through the lens of fleeting time and social morality.
Keywords
Carpe diem, seventeenth-century poetry, Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell, female virginity, male desire, religious allegory, seduction, marriage, nature imagery, temporality, literary analysis, gender roles, sexual morality, To the Virgins to Make Much of Time, To His Coy Mistress.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines how seventeenth-century "carpe diem" poetry, specifically works by Herrick and Marvell, addresses the tension between societal expectations of female virginity and the urgency of male sexual desire.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The main themes include the transience of time, the symbolic use of nature and religion in seduction, the social mandate of marriage, and the differences in how male speakers approach these subjects in the 17th century.
What is the core research question?
The research explores how the "carpe diem" philosophy is employed as a rhetorical device to persuade women to abandon their hesitation toward sexual activity, while accounting for the poets' varying stances on marriage.
Which scientific method is applied here?
The work utilizes a comparative literary analysis, focusing on stylistic devices, historical context, and allegorical interpretation of the chosen poems.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section provides a stanza-by-stanza analysis of the poems, identifying how the speakers utilize metaphors, religious allegories, and linguistic choices (such as pronouns) to exert pressure on their female subjects.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include carpe diem, seventeenth-century poetry, religious allegory, female virginity, male desire, seduction, and temporal metaphors.
How does Herrick’s approach to marriage differ from Marvell’s in these poems?
Herrick frames his argument for sexual intimacy within the context of marriage, whereas Marvell’s speaker focuses more explicitly on fulfilling personal desires regardless of marital status.
What role does the "glorious lamp of heaven" play in Herrick's poem?
It serves as a metaphor for the sun and the arc of human life, suggesting that after reaching a peak of beauty or youth, life inevitably declines, creating an urgent need to act before it is too late.
How does Marvell use pronouns to influence the reader?
Marvell uses the shift from formal ("you") to informal ("thou") pronouns to navigate the distance and intimacy in the relationship, ultimately using plural pronouns ("we," "us") to create a sense of shared fate to persuade the mistress.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Romina Müller (Autor:in), 2011, Female Virginity and Male Desire in Seventeenth Century Carpe Diem Poetry, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/174798
