“To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick: A Critical Analysis

Introduction: “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Table of Contents

“To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick first appeared in 1648 in his celebrated poetry collection Hesperides. The poem captures Herrick’s preoccupation with the brevity of life and the transience of beauty, recurring themes in his carpe diem poetry. Addressing the daffodils directly, Herrick laments their swift fading—“Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon”—and draws a poignant parallel between the short lifespan of flowers and human mortality. The poet’s plea, “Stay, stay, / Until the hasting day / Has run / But to the even-song,” expresses a deep yearning to prolong beauty and life, even if only briefly. Herrick’s use of soft rhythm, alliteration, and personification enhances the melancholic tenderness of the verse, transforming a simple flower into a profound metaphor for human existence. The poem’s popularity endures due to its lyrical simplicity, emotional resonance, and universal reflection on the ephemerality of time—“We die / As your hours do, and dry / Away, / Like to the summer’s rain.” These lines encapsulate Herrick’s ability to blend pastoral imagery with metaphysical depth, making “To Daffodils” one of the finest examples of 17th-century lyric poetry on mortality and the fleeting nature of life.

Text: “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Fair Daffodils, we weep to see

You haste away so soon;

As yet the early-rising sun

Has not attain’d his noon.

Stay, stay,

Until the hasting day

Has run

But to the even-song;

And, having pray’d together, we

Will go with you along.

We have short time to stay, as you,

We have as short a spring;

As quick a growth to meet decay,

As you, or anything.

We die

As your hours do, and dry

Away,

Like to the summer’s rain;

Or as the pearls of morning’s dew,

Ne’er to be found again.

Annotations: “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Stanza / Lines	Detailed Annotation (in Simple English)	Key Literary & Poetic Devices (with Examples and Explanations)
Stanza 1 (Lines 1–10)	The poet speaks directly to the daffodils, expressing sorrow at how quickly they fade — “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon.” He compares their brief life to a day that ends before noon, symbolizing the shortness of human life. The plea “Stay, stay” shows his wish to delay their departure and, symbolically, the passing of time. The phrase “And, having pray’d together, we / Will go with you along” reflects the unity of human and nature in the cycle of life and death. The tone is tender, mournful, and reflective, showing awareness of mortality.	1. Personification: “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see” — gives flowers human qualities of emotion. 2. Apostrophe: Direct address to daffodils, creating intimacy. 3. Alliteration: “Fair Daffodils,” “haste away so soon” — musical rhythm. 4. Symbolism: Daffodils symbolize beauty, youth, and transience. 5. Imagery: “Early-rising sun,” “even-song” — evokes natural scenes. 6. Repetition: “Stay, stay” — emphasizes longing to delay time. 7. Tone: Mournful and reflective, evoking gentle sadness.
Stanza 2 (Lines 11–20)	The poet compares human life to that of the daffodils — both have “short time to stay” and “as short a spring.” He reflects that human life grows and fades just as quickly as flowers, rain, or dew. The imagery of “summer’s rain” and “pearls of morning’s dew” reinforces the theme of impermanence. The stanza broadens the reflection to all living beings, showing that nothing lasts forever — a universal truth of mortality and decay.	1. Metaphor: “We have as short a spring” — life compared to spring (youth). 2. Simile: “Like to the summer’s rain; / Or as the pearls of morning’s dew” — human life compared to fleeting natural elements. 3. Parallelism: “We have short time to stay, as you, / We have as short a spring” — reinforces equality of human and natural decay. 4. Imagery: “Summer’s rain, morning’s dew” — vivid sensory pictures of transience. 5. Symbolism: Rain and dew symbolize fragility and momentariness of life. 6. Tone: Philosophical yet gentle acceptance of mortality. 7. Theme: The inevitability of death and the fleeting beauty of life.
Overall Poem (1648, from Hesperides)	“To Daffodils” was first published in Herrick’s 1648 collection Hesperides. It reflects his recurring “carpe diem” (seize the day) theme and his belief in appreciating beauty before it fades. The poem unites man and nature in a shared destiny of impermanence, using soft rhythm and rich imagery to convey that life, like daffodils, must wither swiftly but beautifully.	1. Theme: Transience of life and beauty. 2. Rhyme Scheme: ABCCBA or alternating pattern creating melody. 3. Rhythm: Gentle and lyrical, enhancing emotional tone. 4. Structure: Two balanced stanzas symbolizing morning and evening (life and death).

Literary And Poetic Devices: “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

No. & Device	Example and Explanation
1. Alliteration	Example: “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see.” — The repetition of the initial ‘w’ and ‘d’ sounds adds rhythm and musicality, emphasizing the beauty and delicacy of the flowers.
2. Allusion	Example: “Even-song.” — Refers to evening prayer, alluding to religious devotion and linking the daffodils’ fading with the close of human life.
3. Anaphora	Example: “We have short time to stay, as you, / We have as short a spring.” — The repetition of “We have” stresses the shared transience of human and floral existence.
4. Apostrophe	Example: “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon.” — The speaker directly addresses the daffodils as if they could hear and respond, personifying them.
5. Assonance	Example: “Stay, stay, / Until the hasting day.” — The long “a” sound creates musicality and reflects the poet’s longing for the daffodils to linger.
6. Consonance	Example: “We die / As your hours do, and dry / Away.” — The repeated “d” and “y” sounds emphasize decay and the gradual fading of life.
7. Couplet	Example: “We die / As your hours do, and dry / Away.” — Two rhyming lines encapsulate the complete idea of mortality and time’s passing.
8. Enjambment	Example: “As yet the early-rising sun / Has not attain’d his noon.” — The sentence continues beyond one line, mirroring the continuous flow of time.
9. Imagery	Example: “Like to the summer’s rain; / Or as the pearls of morning’s dew.” — Creates vivid sensory pictures of fragility and impermanence.
10. Metaphor	Example: “We have as short a spring.” — Compares human life to the brief season of spring, suggesting vitality followed by inevitable decline.
11. Meter	Example: The poem follows an iambic rhythm. — The steady beat reinforces the natural and contemplative tone of the poem.
12. Personification	Example: “You haste away so soon.” — The daffodils are given human traits, such as the ability to “haste,” symbolizing life’s fleeting nature.
13. Refrain	Example: “Stay, stay.” — The repetition functions as a refrain, expressing a deep emotional plea to delay the inevitable passage of time.
14. Rhyme Scheme	Example: ABABCCDD pattern. — Creates musical harmony and binds each stanza’s reflections into a lyrical unity.
15. Simile	Example: “Like to the summer’s rain; / Or as the pearls of morning’s dew.” — Compares human life to short-lived natural elements, highlighting ephemerality.
16. Symbolism	Example: “Daffodils.” — Symbolize human life and mortality; their short bloom reflects the brevity of human existence.
17. Tone	Example: Tender and melancholic tone throughout. — Conveys both admiration for beauty and sorrow for its transience.
18. Transience (Theme)	Example: “We have short time to stay, as you.” — Captures the central theme of impermanence shared by all living things.
19. Volta	Example: Shift between first and second stanzas. — Moves from appreciation of nature’s beauty to reflection on human mortality.
20. Voice (Speaker’s Address)	Example: “We weep to see / You haste away so soon.” — The speaker’s intimate voice invites empathy and emotional connection with nature.

Themes: “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

1. Transience of Life in “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

The dominant theme in Herrick’s “To Daffodils” is the transience of life—the fleeting nature of human existence mirrored through the short-lived beauty of daffodils. The poet laments, “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon,” drawing a poignant comparison between the rapid fading of flowers and the brevity of human life. By noting that “As yet the early-rising sun / Has not attain’d his noon,” Herrick uses the unfinished journey of the sun to symbolize how life often ends before reaching its full maturity. The daffodils’ brief bloom becomes a metaphor for the human lifespan—beautiful yet ephemeral, reminding readers of mortality and the inevitable passage of time.

2. Parallel Between Nature and Humanity in “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Herrick’s poem also explores the parallel between nature and humanity, suggesting that both follow the same natural cycle of birth, growth, and decay. He writes, “We have short time to stay, as you, / We have as short a spring,” directly equating human existence to the seasonal life of flowers. Through this comparison, Herrick blurs the boundary between man and nature, portraying both as transient participants in the cosmic rhythm of life and death. The phrase “As quick a growth to meet decay” underscores the inevitability of decline that awaits every living being. This shared mortality creates a universal connection—one that emphasizes humility, acceptance, and the beauty found in impermanence.

3. Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) in “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Embedded within Herrick’s elegiac tone is the classical Carpe Diem theme—a call to cherish the fleeting moments of life before they vanish. Though mournful in tone, the poem subtly urges readers to value the present, much like Herrick’s other works that celebrate ephemeral beauty. The poet’s plea, “Stay, stay, / Until the hasting day / Has run / But to the even-song,” conveys a yearning to prolong both life and joy, even if only momentarily. This plea to the daffodils is symbolic of humanity’s own desire to delay the inevitable. Through this, Herrick reminds readers to live fully within their limited time, for just as daffodils cannot resist wilting, humans too must accept the brevity of their existence while embracing its beauty.

4. Spiritual Reflection and Acceptance in “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Finally, “To Daffodils” carries a tone of spiritual reflection and acceptance of mortality, transforming grief into reverence. The poet envisions life and death as parts of a divine cycle, as seen in the lines, “And, having pray’d together, we / Will go with you along.” Here, the act of praying alongside the daffodils reflects a spiritual kinship and submission to God’s natural order. Death, in this sense, is not an end but a continuation of existence in another form. The imagery of “summer’s rain” and “pearls of morning’s dew” evokes a sense of purity and renewal, suggesting that although life fades, its essence remains within creation. Herrick thus closes the poem not in despair but in quiet acceptance, transforming transience into a moment of sacred understanding.

Literary Theories and “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

Literary Theory	Application to “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick (with References and Explanation)
1. New Criticism	From a New Critical perspective, the poem is a self-contained work whose meaning emerges from its language, structure, and imagery rather than external context. The close reading reveals balanced contrasts between life and death, morning and evening, and human and flower. The lines “We have short time to stay, as you” and “Like to the summer’s rain” demonstrate the poem’s internal unity through recurring imagery of brevity and transience. The tone, rhythm, and metaphors work cohesively to evoke mortality’s inevitability and the fleeting beauty of existence.
2. Romanticism / Aesthetic Theory	Although Herrick predates the Romantic era, Romantic aesthetics apply because the poem idealizes nature’s beauty as a mirror of human emotion. The poet’s address to the daffodils—“Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon”—reflects deep emotional engagement with nature and the spiritual melancholy arising from impermanence. The natural imagery—“pearls of morning’s dew”—embodies the Romantic belief that beauty and sadness coexist, revealing the poet’s aesthetic response to life’s brevity.
3. Humanist Theory	Through a Humanist lens, the poem celebrates human awareness and empathy toward nature, emphasizing moral reflection on mortality. The poet recognizes that both flowers and humans share a universal destiny, as expressed in “We die / As your hours do, and dry / Away.” Herrick’s acceptance of life’s temporality aligns with Renaissance Humanism, which values human experience, reason, and contemplation of life’s cycle within divine order.
4. Reader-Response Theory	A Reader-Response approach highlights how the poem invites readers to emotionally participate in the meditation on mortality. When the poet says, “Stay, stay, / Until the hasting day / Has run / But to the even-song,” readers share his yearning to pause time and reflect on their own fleeting lives. The poem’s intimacy and direct address (“we weep to see”) evoke personal empathy, allowing each reader to internalize the transience of life through their individual emotional lens.

Critical Questions about “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

1. How does Robert Herrick use nature to reflect the transience of human life in “To Daffodils”?

In “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick, nature serves as both a mirror and a metaphor for human existence. The daffodils symbolize the brevity of beauty and life itself. Herrick writes, “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon,” lamenting how swiftly the flowers fade, much like human youth and vitality. The imagery of the “early-rising sun” and “even-song” aligns the flower’s brief bloom with the span of a single day, suggesting that all natural life — including human — moves inevitably toward decline. By comparing human mortality to the fleetingness of daffodils, Herrick situates mankind within the larger cycle of nature’s decay and renewal. His reflective tone transforms the natural world into a moral landscape, teaching acceptance of life’s impermanence. Thus, nature in Herrick’s poem becomes both subject and symbol, expressing universal truth through the ephemeral beauty of the flowers.

2. What is the significance of time and mortality in “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick?

In Robert Herrick’s “To Daffodils,” time functions as an unstoppable force that governs all living things. The poet’s repeated emphasis on speed — “You haste away so soon” and “Until the hasting day” — evokes the rapid passage of both hours and lifetimes. Herrick portrays existence as a fleeting “spring,” emphasizing that “We have short time to stay, as you.” The parallel between human life and the daffodil’s brief bloom underscores mortality’s inevitability. Time in the poem is both enemy and teacher: it robs life of permanence but reminds humanity to cherish the present. The comparison of life to “summer’s rain” and “pearls of morning’s dew” evokes images of beauty that vanish almost instantly, revealing the delicate balance between vitality and decay. Herrick’s vision of time is cyclical yet irreversible, making mortality not a tragedy but a natural conclusion to existence, to be met with grace and awareness.

3. How does Herrick’s tone contribute to the emotional impact of “To Daffodils”?

The tone of “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick is tender, reflective, and elegiac, contributing profoundly to the poem’s emotional resonance. The gentle appeal — “Stay, stay” — reflects both a personal yearning and a universal human desire to prolong life and beauty. Rather than expressing despair, Herrick’s tone evokes quiet sadness mingled with acceptance, turning grief into meditation. His soft, rhythmic phrasing and musical repetition create a sense of serenity, even while acknowledging loss. When he writes, “We die / As your hours do, and dry / Away,” the tone becomes introspective, transforming a simple observation about flowers into a spiritual reflection on mortality. This calm acceptance amplifies the poem’s poignancy, suggesting that death, though inevitable, can be faced with composure. Herrick’s tone bridges emotional depth with philosophical insight, allowing readers to feel the sorrow of parting while appreciating the fragile beauty of life’s transience.

4. In what ways does “To Daffodils” exemplify the carpe diem theme in Herrick’s poetry?

Robert Herrick’s “To Daffodils” embodies the classic carpe diem (seize the day) theme central to much of his work. While the poem mourns fleeting beauty, it also implicitly urges appreciation of life before it fades. The daffodils’ swift passing — “You haste away so soon” — serves as a reminder that human joy and youth are equally brief. The metaphor “We have as short a spring” equates life’s prime to a season that must end, urging readers to value the moment. Although death is inevitable, Herrick’s carpe diem philosophy does not advocate despair but mindful living within time’s limits. The act of addressing the daffodils directly, “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see,” reinforces the intimacy between humanity and nature, both transient yet beautiful. In essence, the poem’s gentle melancholy conceals a subtle exhortation: embrace the present, for beauty and life are fleeting blessings that must be cherished before they vanish.

Literary Works Similar to “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

1. “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick
→ Written by the same poet, this poem shares the carpe diem theme, urging readers to “gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” just as “To Daffodils” reminds us of the fleeting nature of beauty and life.

2. “The Sick Rose” by William Blake
→ Like Herrick’s poem, Blake’s work uses a flower as a symbol of fragile life and inevitable decay, revealing how beauty and corruption coexist within nature and human experience.
3. “The Daffodils” (also known as “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”) by William Wordsworth
→ Both poems focus on daffodils as emblems of nature’s transient yet uplifting beauty, though Wordsworth finds spiritual joy in memory, while Herrick reflects on mortality.
4. “To Autumn” by John Keats
→ Keats’s ode, like Herrick’s lyric, contemplates the passage of time through nature’s cycle, transforming seasonal change into a meditation on life, maturity, and death.

5. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe
→ Although more romantic, Marlowe’s pastoral poem shares Herrick’s idealization of nature and the fleeting pleasures of youth, echoing the same carpe diem spirit found in “To Daffodils.”

Representative Quotations of “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick

No.	Quotation	Context (Poetic Meaning)	Theoretical Perspective
1	“Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon”	The poet mourns the short life of the daffodils, symbolizing the fleeting beauty of nature and human existence.	Mortality & Transience — Human life and beauty are impermanent, aligning with Herrick’s carpe diem philosophy.
2	“As yet the early-rising sun / Has not attain’d his noon”	The poet laments that the flowers fade before the day even reaches its peak, suggesting unfulfilled potential.	Temporal Symbolism — The sun represents life’s cycle; the image shows premature decay and the brevity of youth.
3	“Stay, stay, / Until the hasting day / Has run / But to the even-song”	The plea to the daffodils to linger mirrors human desire to prolong life and delay death.	Existential Humanism — A yearning against time reflects human resistance to mortality.
4	“And, having pray’d together, we / Will go with you along”	The poet unites human and flower in a shared spiritual journey toward death, emphasizing universal mortality.	Religious Humanism — Acceptance of death as a sacred, shared end between nature and mankind.
5	“We have short time to stay, as you, / We have as short a spring”	The poet equates human life’s brevity to that of the flowers’ spring season.	Metaphysical Poetics — Life is cyclical and transient; this analogy reflects the metaphysical idea of unity in decay.
6	“As quick a growth to meet decay, / As you, or anything”	Growth and decay occur simultaneously; life inherently carries death within it.	Organic Unity — Reflects natural law that creation and destruction coexist within the same process.
7	“We die / As your hours do, and dry / Away”	The speaker emphasizes that human death is as inevitable and natural as the fading of flowers.	Memento Mori — Reminder of death; urges spiritual reflection on the ephemeral nature of life.
8	“Like to the summer’s rain; / Or as the pearls of morning’s dew”	The poet uses similes to show how quickly life disappears, like vanishing dew or rain.	Romantic Imagery — Uses sensory beauty to express philosophical melancholy about impermanence.
9	“Ne’er to be found again”	The final line concludes with the irrevocable nature of death — once gone, life cannot return.	Fatalism — Accepts death’s finality and the irreversible flow of time.
10	“To Daffodils” (Title)	The title directly addresses the flower, personifying nature and setting a tone of intimacy and reverence.	Apostrophic Lyricism — Through direct address, Herrick transforms a natural object into a vehicle for existential reflection.