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Hesperides (poetry collection)

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Title page of Robert Herrick's Hesperides, 1648

Hesperides (/hɛˈspɛrɪdz/) (complete title, Hesperides; or the Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick Esq.) is a book of poetry published in 1648 by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick. This collection of 1200 lyrical poems, his magnum opus, was published under his direction, and established his reputation.[1][2] It is replete with carpe diem sentiments. The title refers to the Hesperides, nymphs of the evening in Greek mythology.

Content

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Hesperides includes "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", which features the famous lines:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
To-morrow will be dying.

It also includes "Corinna's Going a-Maying",[3] which includes the lines:

Come, let us goe, while we are in our prime;
And take the harmlesse follie of the time.
We shall grow old apace, and die
Before we know our liberty.
Our life is short; and our dayes run
As fast away as do's the Sunne:
And as a vapour, or a drop of raine
Once lost, can ne'r be found againe.

Furthermore, Hesperides includes “Upon Julia’s Clothes”,[4] which features one of the most famous phrases in English literature:

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,
Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.

Influence

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The collection gives its name to the literary society of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where Herrick was a student.

References

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  1. ^ "Hesperides". www.litencyc.com.
  2. ^ "The Life of Robert Herrick (1591-1674)". www.luminarium.org.
  3. ^ Foundation, Poetry (15 October 2020). "Corinna's going a Maying by Robert Herrick". Poetry Foundation.
  4. ^ Foundation, Poetry (13 March 2021). "Upon Julia's Clothes by Robert Herrick". Poetry Foundation.
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