"You may for ever tarry..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The phrase "You may for ever tarry" means in other words, "If you don't use it, you are going to lose it." Herrick and other poets, like Andrew Marvell, were part of a loose group of poets called the Metaphysical Poets, who wrote about unconventional subjects and used unusual imagery to capture human experience.
"That Age is best, which is the first,
When Youth and Blood are warmer..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
During the 17th century, the average person lived only about 37 years, so the argument that they need to love while young is both practical and realistic.
"Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a flying..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The opening lines of one of the most well-known* carpe diem*, or "seize the day," poems in the 17th century in which the speakers tells his lover that, because time is short, they need to love now rather than later. Herrick, an Anglican minister, had to be careful about how he frames the *carpe diem *argument.
The poem is in argument form: the first half discusses the fact that the lovers are running out of time; the second half proposes that they use their time to love each other.
