Carpe Diem" by Robert Frost

Personification of Age

Chiming church bells symbolize time

Children passing symbolize time passing

"Drinking Song" by John Fletcher

Merry, boisterous tone

Caution to the wind

Quick, punchy rhyme scheme

Entertaining but less sincere than Frost

The term "carpe diem," meaning "seize the day" in Italian, encourages a person to make the most of his time while he has it. A carpe diem poem typically emphasizes the elusive or fleeting nature of time, with a particular focus on the passing of youth. In Robert Frost's "Carpe Diem," he personifies Age and places him on a road watching two children pass. Age knows not where the children are headed, but wishes them happiness regardless as those "With happiness should have it. / And yet not know that they have it" (lines 17-18). The passing of time and the innocence of youth is further emphasized by the chiming...
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