Which poem is a famous example of Carpe Diem urging lovers to seize the day?

• A. The Tyger
• B. Ode to a Nightingale
• C. The Waking
• D. To His Coy Mistress

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is recognizing a Carpe Diem message—the urge to seize the present moment, especially in love, before time runs out. In this famous poem, the speaker directly addresses his lover who is hesitant or coy, arguing that time will not wait and that they should act now rather than delaying. He first indulges her with flattering praise and a playful, humorous tone, suggesting that their love could grow slowly if given endless time—“vegetable love” that might stretch out forever. But he quickly shifts to the reality that time is limited, invoking the image of time as a “winged chariot” rushing toward them and rendering a life without action as a “desert of vast eternity.” That stark contrast creates a push-pull effect: indulge in love now or risk losing the moment to age and death. The turning point arrives with a bold, imperative call to embrace the present—“Let us roll all our strength and all / Our sweetness up into one ball”—and a final, urgent exhortation to act while they may, capturing the essence of Carpe Diem. The poem stands out from the other works for its relentless temporal argument in service of immediate romantic experience, rather than exploring questions of existence, mortality in a general sense, or longing for escape from life through art.