EDMUND WALLER S. Cooperman, 2014

Edmund Waller Elected to Parliament at age 16, Edmund Waller quickly gained a reputation as a masterful orator. He was also a celebrated lyric poet long before the publication of his Poems in Despite his eloquent efforts to placate both Oliver Cromwell and Charles II, Waller was forced into exile for nearly a decade. His highly refined work, particularly his heroic couplets, were much admired by Alexander Pope and John Dryden. S. Cooperman, 2014

Go, Lovely Rose Go, lovely Rose— Tell her that wastes her time and me, That now she knows, When I resemble her to thee, How sweet and fair she seems to be. Tell her that’s young, And shuns to have her graces spied, That hadst thou sprung In deserts where no men abide, Thou must have uncommended died. Small is the worth Of beauty from the light retired: Bid her come forth, Suffer herself to be desired, And not blush so to be admired. Then die—that she The common fate of all things rare May read in thee; How small a part of time they share That are so wondrous sweet and fair! S. Cooperman, 2014

Structure This lyric poem is composed of four stanzas with five-lines each. The brevity of the first and third lines (four syllables in each) are offset by the remaining lines of eight syllables each. The shorter lines contain imperatives that cause a break in the rhythm. S. Cooperman, 2014

Meter and Rhyme The rhyme scheme is ababb cdcdd efeff bgbgg. The short lines rhyme together as do the longer lines thereby creating a steady rhythm. This poem is also credited with refining the heroic couplet, a device credited to Waller (though he wasn’t the first to use it). The lines are composed of iambic feet (4, 8, 4, 8, 8) with some interruptions like the spondaic stress of “Then die” in the final stanza. Go, LOVE| ly ROSE (iambic dimeter) Tell HER|that WASTES|her TIME|and ME (iambic tetrameter) Go, LOVE| ly ROSE (iambic dimeter) Tell HER|that WASTES|her TIME|and ME (iambic tetrameter) S. Cooperman, 2014

Go, lovely Rose— Tell her that wastes her time and me, That now she knows, When I resemble her to thee, How sweet and fair she seems to be. The speaker employs apostrophe to gain a sense of detachment. Also, note the use of imperatives to highlight the strength of his feelings. The ROSE forms the central metaphor of the poem and symbolizes the woman’s fleeting beauty, her short life, and her wasteful virginity. Since the metaphor is carried throughout the poem, the conceit serves to entice the young woman out of her reticence through the Carpe Diem theme. “Wastes” implies that the woman carelessly squanders her youth and virginity. The pronoun suggests that the man “wastes” away because his love is unrequited. S. Cooperman,

Tell her that’s young, And shuns to have her graces spied, That hadst thou sprung In deserts where no men abide, Thou must have uncommended died. This image reinforces the speaker’s message of the brevity of life, which is common in Carpe Diem poetry. The use of negative diction (“wastes,” “shuns,” “uncommended,” and “suffer”) reinforces his frustration with the woman. The woman is shy, but this trait should be overshadowed by the image of death with the work “deserts.” S. Cooperman, 2014

Small is the worth Of beauty from the light retired: Colon introduces command. Bid her come forth, Suffer herself to be desired, And not blush so to be admired. The imperatives continue as the woman is “bid” to “come forth,” for if she remains hidden, her beauty is worthless. The use of sibilance in this and the other stanzas is tempting, much like the snake in the Garden of Eden. S. Cooperman, 2014 Personification of the rose continues and reinforces man’s relationship with nature.

Then die—that she The common fate of all things rare May read in thee; How small a part of time they share That are so wondrous sweet and fair! The final imperative insists that the “rose” must literally die. This fragility may convince the woman that time is fleeting. “Die” also has an archaic connotation that refers to sex. As a Carpe Diem poet, the speaker urges the young maiden to relinquish her virginity so that she may “die” while she is still desired. The symbol of the rose is significant here as well since a “rose” represented a woman who has “blossomed” as opposed to the “rosebud” that represents a virginal woman. S. Cooperman, 2014

Works Cited S. Cooperman,