To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Archaisms are defined as words no longer in common use and/or other words that may not be familiar to the reader. Some archaisms used in the poem are "tarry" and "coy". These are both words that i have never seen before until now. Syntax can be used as changing word order, in order to keep a certain rhyme going. An example of this in the poem may be "that age is best which is the 'first', when youth and blood are warmer; but being spent, the worse, and 'worst'". Rhyme is obviously used throughout the poem alot. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying; and this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying". Dramatic situation pretty much summarizes who is speaking to who under what circumstances. In this poem, the author Robert Herrick is kind of the narrator talking to the reader. A caesura is a pause within a line. A good example of this in the poem is the comma separating "but being spent" and "the worse, and worst".