Living Life to Its Fullest--Andrew Marvell’s Poem, “to His...

Living Life to its Fullest â€Å"Carpe diem† is a Latin phrase that is commonly translated as â€Å"seize the day.† Many poems contain ideas that are similar to that of carpe diem. They discuss how one must cherish every moment of his or her life because life is limited and will eventually come to an end. Andrew Marvell’s poem, â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† is an example of a carpe diem themed poem. Through the use of invigorating imagery, multiple tones, and thought-provoking metaphors Marvell develops an allegory for living every second of life to its fullest. Marvell uses visual imagery to advocate the idea that every life is limited and must come to an end. Imagery such as â€Å"My echoing song; then worms shall try† (Marvell 27) makes one†¦show more content†¦This metaphor is emphasizing the idea that if one waits to long to take action then he or she may lose the chance to act on his or her desires. Furthermore, a metaphor that r eveals the brevity of life is â€Å"Thus, though we cannot make our sun / Stand still, yet we will make it run† (Marvell 45-46). This metaphor describes how time is always moving. It is expressing the idea that one needs to make the most out of the time he or she has because time itself cannot be stopped. Marvell’s poem expresses the idea of carpe diem through the utilization of imagery, multiple tones and metaphors. He uses death as an argument for carpe diem because it causes one to realize that they should cherish the life they have now before it is too late. â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† shows that the society of Marvell’s time did not allow for people to take chances in their lives. Many people may have passed on taking certain risks in their lives, and when the time did come for their lives to end, they were filled with thoughts containing wishes of taking those risks they passed over. This poem teaches people to fully live every moment in their life and it should be read so that people can learn to live life with no regrets. Works Cited Marvell, Andrew. To His Coy Mistress. The Hudson Book of Poetry: 150 Poems worth Reading. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 17-18.Show MoreRelated To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell Essay877 Words   |  4 PagesTo His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell is considered a cavalier poet. He writes seduction poems that represent characteristics of cavalier poets through use of clever, witty, and developed lyrics. Marvells To His Coy Mistress is a seduction poem that contains these elements along with the use of rhyme, meter, imagery, and tone. Marvell creates a seduction poem that argues the desire for sexual gratification with a distinct aggressive tone. To begin with the speaker in theRead MoreEssay on The Four Periods of Literature1518 Words   |  7 Pagescommunication methods used. There are four major literary time periods, the values of each of these, and their authors will be discussed. The first time period is authors who rejoiced in the basic joys of life. The next period saw authors realizing that life is short and must be enjoyed to the fullest. The third period influenced authors to begin taking new roads and creating literature that had never before existed. The fourth and final period in the discussion, men began to realize the destructive