Lucía Pineda Guerrero

CONTRASTIVE COMENTARY

We have two poems in which the topic of tempus fugit is presented. They share the same
conclusion: you have to enjoy while you are young. However, every poem deals with this topic
in such different ways. In the first poem the author tries to fight against the time; led it by the
love he feels. While in the second poem, the author spreads the message of having fun in the
time little time we have in youth.

The former is the sonnet 15, written by William Shakespeare. This poet presents the topic
tempus fugit in order to preserve the beauty of the fair lord (to who the poem is addressed)
while he is young. In the first quatrain, the author thinks about every living thing that exists in
the earth. All in this world has a single moment of perfection before decaying and dying, in
this case this moment is related to youth. The author compares the world to a “huge stage”,
because all in the world is an appearance, as in a play. Then the poet brings the idea of
“destiny is written on stars”, and that stars control the fate of every living thing. In the next
quatrain the author compare men to plants, both of them grow thanks to the sun and the sky.
They show off while they are young and strong, but once this prime stage has been reached,
beauty, youth and strength stars to decay as the poet has claimed previously, nothing is
forever. Regarding the last quatrain, the poet brings to his memory that image of perfection of
the young fair lord and we observe a personification of “time” and “decay”. They are plotting
in order to destroy the beauty of the fear lord. They want to turn his “day of light”, that brief
stage of perfection in youth, into “sullied night”, that is they will make the fair lord to get old.
Finally, in the final couplet, the poet finds the way of fighting against time. Time will take youth
and life to the fair lord, the poet will “engraft” the fair´s lord beauty in this poem, which will
make him young and handsome forever.

This in an English sonnet, that is, it is composed by three quatrains and a final couplet. It is
written in iambic pentameters. Its rhyme pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Regarding the
literary devices of this text there is one which clearly stood out, the comparison. In order to
develop the topic of tempus fugit, the poet creates a comparison between men and plants,
“men as plants increase”. The poet also compares the world with a stage, “this huge stage
presenteth nought but showes”. In line 11, there is a personification on time and decay, which
are presented as the “bad guys of the story”, they want to destroy the beauty of the fair lord.
In line 12, there is an antithesis between the terms “day” and “night”, they are opposites. The
author´s intention is to describe the present youth and beauty of the fair lord, “day of youth”,
 Lucía Pineda Guerrero

in contrast to “the sullied night”, which represents the loss of beauty, because of the passing
of time.

The second poem is To the virgins, to make much of Time, written by Robert Herrick. The
poem presents the topic tempus fugit addressed to the virgins. In the first quatrain the author
develops it with natural elements, we must see the “roses” today, because soon they will die,
“this same flower that smiles today, to morrow will be dying”. This means that young people
must enjoy now that they can, because time “is still a-flying”. In the second quatrain, the poet
compares human life to the sun cycle, he sees it as a lamp which causes our lives to end when
setting, “the higher he´s a-getting; the sooner will this Race be run, and nearer he´s to setting”.
In the third part, the author suggests youth is the best time of our lives, “that age is best which
is the first”. Once youth has passed all is worse. Finally, the conclusion of the poem is taking
advantage of time and don´t pay attention to what other people would think of you, “be not
coy, but use your time”. People have to enjoy while time allowing them, “while ye may,goe
marry”. If you miss the opportunity, you wouldn´t enjoy in the same way because you will be
old and less beautiful, “for having lost but once your prime, you may for ever tarry”.

Regarding the message of each poem, both of them, as said previously, present the topic of
tempus fugit. This is presented through metaphors and comparisons between plants and
human beings. In both of them there are natural elements like the rose-buds, the plants, sap,
the sun…etc. however, despite from the topic, Shakespeare´s sonnet stresses more on the idea
of making something ephemeral (fair lord´s beauty) immortal, leaving the poem as an proof of
this, forever an ever. Nevertheless, what Robert Herrick´s poem stresses the most is the simply
idea of being conscious about old age and death, so enjoy now that you haven´t limitations of
any kind. There is a difference between both author´s intentions with their poems.
Shakespeare addressed to the fair lord, “promising” him to fight against time for making his
beauty live forever in the poem. The author does it because of the love he feels for the fair
lord. However, in the second poem, the poet is a kind of “counselor”. He is advising young
people (especially to the virgins) to use their time for having fun, because later they won´t be
able to do it.

In the field of structure, the second poem is divided into four quatrains. It has a strange
composition, the odd-numbered lines are iambic tetrameter, while the even-numbered ones
are iambic Trimeter. Their rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH. In literary devices, this
poem is full of metaphors. The main image for this is that of the rose, which as human beings,
decay by the passing of time. Another interesting device is personification. The sun is
 Lucía Pineda Guerrero

personified in line 6, maybe for adding emphasis to its agentive role as determining element
for the passing of time in a day, and in bigger periods of time (from youth to old age).

Regarding literary devices, both texts are quite similar. They use the same metaphors and
comparisons, using elements of nature. But their structures are truly different. The fist poem
has a fixed structure, it is an English sonnet; but the second one hasn´t a clear type of stanza, it
something innovative. It is composed by four quatrains which different number of feet in odd
and even- lines. However, it does not affect to the rhyme pattern, which is exactly the same in
both poems with the exception of the last part (Robert Herrick´s poem has not a final couplet).
This is due to the authors were from different periods of time, so Shakespeare is more
conservative, while Herrick is more innovative. Furthermore, the period in which Robert
Herrick lived (the Restoration) was characterized by a relaxed attitude to life, so this is also
captured in the way his poem is structured.

In conclusion, in these poems the topic of tempus fugit is presented. Both authors use the
same metaphors to express the passing of time, but since slight different perspectives: one is
focus on “immortalize” beauty and another on having fun while you were young. Structurally
and in rhyme schemes, both poems are similar, with the exception of the type of lines and
stanzas. Robert Herrick is by far more innovative in his poem structure, maybe due to the
period of time in which he lived.