Page 33 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”
by Robert Herrick, pages 12-13

Vocabulary
coy – shy
tarry – delay

1. In the first stanza, Herrick writes of rosebuds and the brevity of their beauty. For what are
rosebuds actually a metaphor?

Herrick uses rosebuds as a metaphor for a woman’s virginity.

2. The second stanza contains examples of what two poetic devices?

The sun is described as “the glorious lamp of heaven,” an example of simile. In the second
line, it is referred to as “he” and as running a race, an example of personification.

3. What advice does the speaker give to the virgins he is addressing in the last stanza?

The speaker tells the women not to be shy, but to “use your time,” presumably by finding a
man to love, and to marry him if possible. He warns them that if they lose their virginity
before they marry, they may be alone forever.

4. In what ways does the poem reflect ideas present in Ben Jonson’s “To Celia”?

Answers may vary. Example: Both poems are attempts at getting women to act on their
love for selfish purposes. Additionally, both poems comment on the need for swift and
decisive action.

T-15