Robert Herrick
Robert Herrick Poems
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may:
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying.
...
Here we are all, by day; by night we're hurl'd
By dreams, each one into a several world.
...
I will confess
With cheerfulness,
Love is a thing so likes me,
That, let her lay
...
Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attain'd his noon.
...
HERE a little child I stand
Heaving up my either hand;
Cold as paddocks though they be,
Here I lift them up to Thee,
...
A sweet disorder in the dress
Kindles in clothes a wantonness;
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Into a fine distraction;
...
Have ye beheld (with much delight)
A red rose peeping through a white?
Or else a cherry (double graced)
Within a lily? Centre placed?
...
Sea-born goddess, let me be
By thy son thus graced, and thee,
That whene'er I woo, I find
Virgins coy, but not unkind.
...
No fault in women, to refuse
The offer which they most would chuse.
- No fault: in women, to confess
How tedious they are in their dress;
...
Chorus.
What sweeter music can we bring,
Than a Carol, for to sing
...
You are a Tulip seen to-day,
But, Dearest, of so short a stay,
That where you grew, scarce man can say.
...
1 Among thy fancies, tell me this,
What is the thing we call a kiss?
2 I shall resolve ye what it is:--
...
Bid me to live, and I will live
Thy Protestant to be;
Or bid me love, and I will give
A loving heart to thee.
...
Julia, I bring
To thee this Ring.
Made for thy finger fit;
To shew by this,
...
While the milder fates consent,
Let's enjoy our merriment :
Drink, and dance, and pipe, and play ;
Kiss our dollies night and day :
...
No news of navies burnt at seas;
No noise of late spawn'd tittyries;
No closet plot or open vent,
That frights men with a Parliament:
...
Lord, thou hast given me a cell,
Wherein to dwell;
A little house, whose humble roof
Is weather proof;
...
My dearest Love, since thou wilt go,
And leave me here behind thee;
For love or pity, let me know
The place where I may find thee.
...
By those soft tods of wool,
With which the air is full;
By all those tinctures there
That paint the hemisphere;
...
Robert Herrick Biography
Clergyman and poet, Robert Herrick was born in London, the seventh child of Nicholas Herrick, a wealthy goldsmith. In November 1592, two days after making a will, his father killed himself by jumping from the fourth-floor window of his house. However, the Queen's Almoner did not confiscate the Herrick estate for the crown as was usually the case with suicides. There is no record of Herrick attending school. In 1607 he was apprenticed to his uncle Sir William Herrick as a goldsmith. 'A Country Life: To his Brother M. Tho. Herrick' (1610) is Herrick's earliest known poem, and deals with the move from London to farm life in Leicestershire. 'To My Dearest Sister M. Merice Herrick' was written before 1612. He entered St John's College, Cambridge in 1613, and became friends with Clipsby Crew to whom he addressed several poems such as 'Nuptial Song'. He graduated a Bachelor of Arts in 1617, Master of Arts in 1620, and in 1623 he was ordained priest. By 1625 he was well known as a poet, mixing in literary circles in London such as that of Ben Jonson. In 1629 he was presented by Charles I to the living of Dean Prior, a remote parish of Devonshire. The best of his work was written in the peace and seclusion of country life; 'To Blossoms' and 'To Daffodils' are classical depictions of a devoted appreciation of nature. However, having refused to subscribe to The Solemn League and Covenant, he was ejected from Devonshire in 1647. He then returned to London publishing his religious poems Noble Numbers (1647), and Hesperides (1648). He was distinguished as a lyric poet, and some of his love songs, for example, 'To Anthea' and 'Gather Ye Rose-buds' are considered exceptional . In 1660 he was reinstated at Dean Prior where he lived for the remainder of his life. He wrote no more poems after 1648, and is buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard at Dean Prior.)
The Best Poem Of Robert Herrick
To The Virgins, Make Much Of Time
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may:
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying.
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.
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.
- 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.
Robert Herrick Comments
I have just won a one euro bet that the name of this poem was to daffodils and not to the daffodils. It's a great poem, and nicer in my view than the much more famous wordsworth poem.
I have a poem book by Robert herrick to dianeme is this book worth anything
Could I translate it to Chinese and paste to my blog? Or what copyright restrictions should I follow?
When I was in 7th or 8th grade at Showalter Jr. High in what is now called Tukwilla, Washington, we had a text book with a poem in it by Robert Herrick (yes, I am related) called Sub Deb. My problem is that I cannot seem to find that poem again. Has anyone else heard of it?
Does anyone know the name of the Herrick poem about a tree which begins Ye who pass by and raise a hand against me hearken ere you harm me.
The reading robot is appalling and atrocious! Get rid of it henceforth! ! ! ! What an abomination to hear such a beautiful poem destroyed by this automated moron
He also wrote the Daffodils You are spose to enter this information too Ok
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6/14/2025 7:31:59 PM # 1.0.0
Saw this poem on a crammed tube train in London about 30 years ago. had nowhere to look except at the angled adverts above. (alliteration unintended) -and it just stuck. Don't remember even learning it off. and now thanks to this wonderful website I found it again.