To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

– Robert Herrick

– What is this poem about? What is the speaker saying to the reader? How does this poem relate to the poem you just received in class (’Days’)?

(There are links to words you might not completely understand. Note that marry does not necessarily mean what you think it does today.)

How does the title of the poem (“Nietzsche’s Horse”) play into the meaning of the poem? Does this change what you initially thought of the poem? What is the speaker of the poem trying to do and why?

As a teenanger, do you agree with what he is trying to do? Would you do the same to your own kids in the future?

Nietzsche’s Horse