Introduction
The theme of the “seize of the day”, or Carpe Diem, is a widespread theme in English and American poetry. Various poets encourage readers to celebrate life while they are young as it is too short to wait for the right moment. Wallace Stevens and Robert Herrick are two poets from different epochs whose poems “The Emperor of ice cream” and “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” convey similar messages in divergent ways. Although both poems focus on the fleetingness of life and the appreciation of youth, the distinctions in diction and persona create dissimilar tones and reach different conclusions about their common theme.
Similarities Between the Poems
The main similarity between the analyzed poems is the theme of the “seize of the day”, or Carpe Diem. The term Carpe Diem originates from the Latin language and can be interpreted as “make the best of the present moment” (Wang 294). In both poems, the authors appeal to the readers, showing that only the current moment is important because when people die, this moment will stop for them, but not for the others. To describe life and death, Stevens and Herrick use metaphors and symbols in their poems.
Metaphors
In “The Emperor of ice cream”, Stevens uses the metaphor “concupiscent curds,” (line 3) identifying ice cream with lust and sexual desire and opposing it to the coldness of a dead body. The word “emperor” is another metaphor that can be identified with time and life: as long as a person is alive, they have time for joy and lust (Stevens lines 8; 16). However, as they become older, their ice cream melts along with their sexual desires and physical abilities. In such a way, these metaphors are aimed to emphasize the transience of life and the power of time over human beings.
In “To the Virgins”, Herrick is also concerned with the metaphors for time and life. For instance, “The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun” is a metaphor denoting human life (Herrick line 5). In the poem, life is compared to a single day that begins with the sunrise, reaches its zenith (youth), and ends when the sun sets (death). The author identifies the sun as a lamp that can be switched on and off over time. Therefore, both poems use metaphors with the same purpose – to emphasize the fleetingness of time and show that life has its end.
Symbols
A symbol is another literary device used in the poems to identify life and death. In Stevens’ poem, one can distinguish such symbols as ice cream, flowers, and embroidered fantails. ice cream symbolizes life and enjoyment, and the emperor who gives ice cream to the visitors controls human lives whereas flowers symbolize life, romance, and death. In the poem, “the boys / bring flowers in last month’s newspapers” (Stevens lines 5-6). At the same time, they cannot escape romance and flirtation, associated with the girls and ice cream. In the end, the flowers will droop eventually, as the youth will fade and life will end. The embroidered fantails are a symbol of the insufficiency of art and human-made objects for covering the dead body, or death in general.
Herrick uses symbols to glorify beauty, youth, and life. For instance, the author writes, “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may” (Herrick line 1). Rose buds symbolize youth and female beauty, encouraging young women (virgins) to gather sexual experiences till they are young and beautiful, like roses. One can see that Herrick and Stevens’ symbolic use of flowers has the same purpose – to demonstrate that life is too short, and people should enjoy every moment because everyone will die eventually.
Differences Between the Poems
At the same time, differences in diction and the use of persona establish dissimilar tones in the poems, making them reach different conclusions about their theme. The joyful tone of Herrick’s poem emphasizes life and youth, focusing on the positive moments more than on death. In comparison, the tone of Stevens’ poem is melancholic and odd, giving the readers tragic ideas about life and death and emphasizing human’s inability to control death.
Persona
While reading the poem “The Emperor of ice cream,” the readers may think that it has no persona. The imperative and second-person point of view creates a commanding voice, repelling the audience. However, this commanding voice demonstrates that the persona of the poem is the emperor of ice cream who controls human lives, being “the only emperor” (Stevens lines 8; 16). This commander says: “Let be finale of seem;” “Let the lamp affix its beam” (Stevens lines 7; 15). These words appear after the simple comments about what people should do, attending a wake. First, the persona playfully discusses the current event, making people eat, flirt, and celebrate instead of mourning for the deceased woman. After that, the narrator reminds all these people that the finale is obvious, and the light will die away for everyone eventually.
In Herrick’s poem, the persona is also unidentified at first. However, a deeper analysis of the text allows the readers to understand that the persona is “Old Time” that is “still a-flying” (Herrick line 2). Time is represented as a moving, tangible object, a human being who is living and smiling today but who will die tomorrow. The narrator’s voice is didactic because he is telling the young women how they should live their lives, but this advice is more encouraging than melancholic. For example, “Than be not coy, but use your time, / And while ye may, go marry” (Herrick lines 13-14). In these lines, the narrator appeals to the girls, emphasizing the joyfulness of life instead of focusing on the dark subject of death.
Diction
Stevens’ poem has two stanzas, structured as a set of commands. The first stanza establishes the mood of celebration and joy while the second stanza introduces the subject of death and time fleetingness. The use of alliteration in the first stanza makes the poem sound attractive: “In kitchen cups concupiscent curds” (Stevens line 3). However, in the second stanza, the author uses unpleasant words, associated with poverty and death. Thus, “dresser of deal” means wood of low quality, while “horny feet” denote death (Stevens lines 1; 5). The verse ends on an unpleasant note of death, showing that when a person dies, no one cares about it.
In comparison, Herrick’s poem comprises four stanzas, and each stanza reveals the themes of life and death simultaneously. First, the author emphasizes life and youth, encouraging young women to enjoy their beauty: “That age is best, which is the first” (Herrick line 9). Later, he reminds them that they will die eventually, inspiring them to appreciate the current moment even more: “For having lost but once your prime, / You may forever tarry” (Herrick lines 15-16). One can see that the diction in both poems establishes different tones and moods in the poems, making the authors achieve dissimilar conclusions.
Conclusion
The theme of Carpe Diem is revealed differently in the analyzed poems. Stevens’ playful persona and diction of ultimate oddness add a pessimistic note to the verse, making the readers think that death is unavoidable, and all joys and celebrations are meaningless after a person’s decease. In contrast, Herrick’s persona of Time and harmonious description of life and death encourage readers to appreciate the current moment.
Works Cited
Herrick, Robert. “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” Poetry Foundation, 1983. Web.
Stevens, Wallace. “The Emperor of ice cream.” Poetry Foundation, 1982. Web.
Wang, Y. “Carpe Diem Revisited in Poetry, Fiction and Film.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 10, no. 3, 2020, pp. 294-299.