TO THE VIRGINS (A Poem by Robert Herrick)

 

     TO THE VIRGINS

                                (A Poem by Robert Herrick)

Robert Herrick  (1591-1674) was an English clergyman and poet. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1617, took his M.A. in 1620 and was ordained in 1623. He was one of the cavalier poets who were mostly light-hearted, gay, trivial and licentious and were unlike George Herbert (1593-1633) , Henry Vaughan (1622-1695) and others who sang of sacred things.

Herrick wrote during the time of political polarisation between those who were  the supporters of the king, Charles I, and those who stood by Oliver Cromwell the supporter of puritan Parliament. The former were called Royalists and Cavaliers; the latter, Roundheads and Parliamentarians.

 

            Though Herrick also wrote some divine poems, he is better known for his pagan poetry in which he draws attention to the brevity of life and the necessity to enjoy the current moment as deeply and as fast possible.

 

His cult is:

 

            Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

            Old time  still a-flying:

            And this same flower that flies today

            Tomorrow will be dying.

In another famous poem Corrina’s going a-Maying, he says:

           

            Come, let us go, while we are in our prime,

And take the harmless folly of the time!

We shall grow old apace, and die

Before we know our liberty.

Our life is short, and our days run

As fast away as does the sun.

And as a vapour or a drop of rain,

Once lost, can ne’er be found again.

So when you or I are made

A fable, song, or fleeting  shade,

All love, all liking, all delight

Lies drown’d with us in endless night.

Then, while time serves, and we are but decaying,

Come, my Corinna, Come, let’s go a-Maying.

 

Let’s go ‘a-Maying’ is the earliest reflection of modern times ‘existentialism.’

 

            In ‘To The Virgins’, Herrick repeats the same message .  Life is short. The vigorous period of youth, too, is short.  It should be enjoyed as it is available right now. In this world of mortal world of men and material, postponement is mere stupidity.  Delay ,too, is unwise. Both these attitudes lead to decay.  Put your trust in the powerful “Today” , not  decayed ‘Tomorrow”. Moreover, the strong ‘Today’ is reliable, reachable and trustworthy, the enfeebled  ‘Tomorrow ’ is both uncertain and undependable.  

 

            The text of the poem under reference is as follows:

 

To The Virgins

 

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow 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.

 

The 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 forever tarry.

   

            Herrick‘s language is sweet and melodious.  He is deservedly called the sweet singer of his time.

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5^th December 2021                                                           G.R.Kanwal