Poem of the Day: ‘The Argument of his Book’

Robert Herrick (1591–1674) wrote Cavalier poetry about seducing beautiful girls. Just about any anthology will include, for example, his “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” and “Corinna’s Going A-Maying” — poems that tell a reader their genre just by their titles. And Robert Herrick wrote religious poems with titles that tell their readers, just as clearly, the category to which they belong. So, for example, two Herrick poems the Sun has previously published: “To Keep a True Lent” and “To Find God.”Robert Herrick. Via Wikimedia CommonsHis poem “To Daffodils,” a Poem of the Day this past spring, might be one of the few poems that unite his carpe-diem notions and his religious sense, but it’s not clear how much the poetry itself actually accepts their conflict. In 1648 Herrick published a large collection of poetry called “Hesperides,” with today’s poem, “The Argument of his Book,” as the opening verse. In pentameter couplets, Herrick notes that he writes “of youth, of love,” and yet, just as well, “I write of Hell; I sing (and ever shall) / Of Heaven, and hope to have it after all.”The Argument of his Bookby Robert HerrickI sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers, Of April, May, of June, and July flowers. I sing of May-poles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes, Of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal-cakes. I write of youth, of love, and have access By these to sing of cleanly wantonness. I sing of dews, of rains, and piece by piece Of balm, of oil, of spice, and ambergris. I sing of Time’s trans-shifting; and I write How roses first came red, and lilies white. I write of groves, of twilights, and I sing The court of Mab, and of the fairy king. I write of Hell; I sing (and ever shall) Of Heaven, and hope to have it after all.___________________________________________With “Poem of the Day,” The New York Sun offers a daily portion of verse selected by Joseph Bottum with the help of the North Carolina poet Sally Thomas, the Sun’s associate poetry editor. Tied to the day, or the season, or just individual taste, the poems are drawn from the deep traditions of English verse: the great work of the past and the living poets who keep those traditions alive. The goal is always to show that poetry can still serve as a delight to the ear, an instruction to the mind, and a tonic for the soul.

Poem of the Day: ‘The Argument of his Book’

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