to daffodils by Robert Herrick, he lived in 17th century.
Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
you haste away so soon
* The poet talks to the flowers, he tells them that he is so sad because he knows the life of the flowers is short and will die soon and leave him.
* he talks to the flowers as human being able to listen and speak in order to attract the attention of the reader or listener ' this is called personification.'
* (He talks to him as if it is present, (apostrophe.
As yet the early-rising sun
has not attain'd his noon
*The flowers born in the morning, they die and the rising sun hasn't reached the noon time.
Stay, stay, (sound alliteration)
until the hasting day
has run (symbolic of death)
But to the even-song ;( symbolic referring to the song of death)
and, having pray'd together, we
Will go with you along
*Stay, stay forced rhyme in order to stress his wishes to continue flourish and stay at the end of the day.
* The poet then addresses the daffodils and asks them to stay until the end of the day with the evening prayer. After praying together he says that they will also accompany the daffodils.
We have short time to stay, as you,
we have as short a spring;
as quick a growth to meet decay,
as you, or anything
* The poet symbolically refers to the youth as spring in these lines. He compares human life with the life of daffodils. Further he says that both of them grow very fast to be destroyed later. Just like the short duration of the flowers, human too die away soon.
*he compares the human life with daffodils that all of them have short life (simile)
*he continues comparing the daffodils life to spring season to show the shortness of life.
As quick a growth to meet decay,
*he compares the daffodils to the period of growth.
As you or anything
we die
*Every creature will be dying. And we die.
Like to the summer's rain;
Or as the pearls of morning's dew,
ne'er to be found again.
Their life is as short as the rain of the summer season, which comes for a very short time; and the dew-drops in the morning, which vanish away and never return again. Thus, the poet after comparing the flowers to humans later turns to the objects of nature – he has compared the life of daffodils with summer rain, dew drops.
*he compares pearls to the dew to show the beauty, shining and tiny. Last line he wishes that time goes back but there is no way.
(m etaphor.)
Theme: life is too short, it's called the mutability of life and usually ends sooner than we wish or desire.
*the lines are short with musical tone.
