Many of the writers in this anthology use poetry to examine the idea of the brevity of human life, but they treat this idea in very different ways.(TM)

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‘Many of the writers in this anthology use poetry to examine the idea of the brevity of human life, but they treat this idea in very different ways.’

The brevity of life is a theme often explored, not only through poetry, but in day to day life. For many years people have been engaging with the idea that life is simply too short to waste, that “each man’s life is but a breath” and in fact pales in comparison to the wonder of nature.

A fine example of a poem which considers the succinctness of life is Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress. This poem straight away engages with the theme; time, and examines the brevity of human life with an argument to ‘seize the day’. The poem is written to his lover in an attempt to show her that life is too short to waste and to convince her to give up her ‘long preserved virginity’. The poem is divided into three verses: in the first verse, the poet uses hyperbole to enact the proposition that literary lovers should waste time conversing and in admiring each other in exotic surroundings; ‘Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side shouldst rubies find’, this, juxtaposed with Humber, in his banal hometown of Yorkshire, highlights that the narrative is in fact intended to be humorous and should not be taken wholly seriously, which is reinforced by the regular rhythm and rhyme. Marvell’s hyperboles gradually escalate throughout the first verse, climaxing in extravagant claims that he will love her ‘ten years before the flood’, effectively revealing to the reader that he strongly believes that time should not, and will not, limit his ability to love and be loved, and, as his hyperboles increase, so does his ‘vegetable love’.

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The second stanza shifts from a blazon approach to the carpe diem argument. There is a clear sense of urgency; he feels that time is constantly running out, which is signified by his lack of hyperbole, instead opting for more quick – paced, uncontrived statements such as ‘thy beauty shall no more be found’, reinforcing this constant idea that each day wasted is simply one day closer to death; that they should not waste their time engaging in mere conversation, keeping her ‘long – preserved virginity’ when time is not on their side. Again, the image of time is present ...

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