'To The Virgins, To Make More Of Time'
'To The Virgins, To Make More Of Time' is about the passing of time, especially the rapid passage of one's youth. The first stanza warns readers to collect rosebuds when they are still young, as they will wither and die tomorrow. The second stanza addresses the rise and lowering of the sun, which happens when time passes in a day. According to the third stanza, youth is the greatest time, but it will be wasted and ruined by the passage of time. The fourth stanza advises people to take advantage of their youth and to be bold as it lasts because once it has passed, there is no getting back the vitality and energy that was once abundant.
The rhyme scheme
The rhyme scheme is ABAB as the last word of the alternating words in the poem rhyme. For instance, in the first stanza, the first line ends with 'may' that rhymes with the third sentence ending in 'today' (Poets.org). The second line ends with 'flying' that rhymes with the last line of the stanza, ending with 'dying' (Poets.org). The poem’s rhyme scheme alternates between two meters which are the alternating iambic tetrameter with a iambic trimeter. The odd lines of the poem are in iambic tetrameter due to the four iambs in every line. The even lines of the poem all contain three iambics per line and as such they are shorter, and an extra syllable is left of the scheme.
The purpose of the poem
The purpose of the poem is to convince people to take action while they are still young because once that period of their lives is gone, there is no getting it back. The speaker tries to convince his audience to be bold and take action while they still have an abundance of energy. He cautions that the passage of time erodes youth and its vitality.
Works Cited
Poets.org. “Poems | Academy of American Poets.” To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, 1674, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/virgins-make-much-time. Accessed 26 Feb. 2017.
