Carpe Diem Poetry

							Carpe Diem
  Poetry:
 Seize the Day!
              Carpe Diem
          means, “pluck the day” as in
 Literally
  “plucking” or pulling flowers

 Getit? Gather moments in life like you
  would gather flowers?

 But remember, these moments don’t last
  long; flowers cut off from the roots die
  soon…
                  Origins
 Attributed to the ancient Roman poet Horace, 65
  B.C.E.
 Composed a book of poems entitled “Odes”
            Scale back your long hopes

           to a short period. While we
           speak, time is envious and

           is running away from us.
           Seize the day, trusting
           little in the future.
Other Versions of This Same Theme

  “Eat,drink, and be merry, for
  tomorrow we will die.” --biblical
  reference (Isaiah)

  "collige,virgo, rosas" appears in a
  Virgil (another classical Roman
  poet) poem, meaning "gather, girl,
  the roses."
   Carpe Diem Defined…

Remember   what Robin
Williams (Mr. Keating) said
about the original purpose of
language? What did he say?
     Carpe Diem Defined…
 Right!   To woo women…

 Woo means to convince or
 persuade; in the Renaissance,
 the purpose of a carpe diem
 poem was to persuade a young
 woman to make love…
 Carpe Diem (poetic sense)

A poem intended to
persuade a young woman
to become a lover by
convincing her that time
(and most usually her
beauty) is fleeting (quickly
disappearing).
     Another Approach…
 “Otherapproaches to carpe diem
 encourage the reader to
 transcend the mundane,
 recognize the power of each
 moment, however brief, and value
 possibility for as long as
 possibility exists.”—Academy of
 American Poets
Modern/Contemporary Approach

  Because   carpe diem begins with
  the premise that life is short,
  modern readers see this as
  “possibility” but also “futility”
  (pointlessness)
         Existentialism
 In
   the literary world, when life is
 seen as pointless and useless,
 we have entered the school of
 existential thought (existentialism)

     in this world is a big “so
 Life
 what?” Life is short and doesn’t
 matter, so “who cares?”
        Grown Up Definition
 The existential dilemma
 suggested by carpe diem includes
 a sense of helplessness and
 senselessness, sentiments which
 are often expressed in a poet's
 resignation to a life filled with
 inexplicable losses and
 hardships.—Academy of
 American Poets
   Renaissance Carpe Diem
      begin in the Renaissance with Robert
 Let’s
 Herrick’s poem, “To the Virgins, to Make
 Much of Time.”
“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 today
        To-morrow will be dying.
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”




      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.
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”




      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.
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”




      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.