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Reading Politicness in Robert Herrick's Hesperides

This paper evaluates Herrick's political view in Hesperides. Though Hesperides contains notably carpe diem motives, it can be read from the political point of view. Herrick lived in a period agitated by fundamental questions in philosophy, religion and politics. It is significant that so much of his best poetry was written in moments of national crisis, the Civil War. He wrote his poetry with deep political consciousness. Herrick's use of political views is so sophisticated and subtle that one can hardly notice them. He juxtaposes politics in the carpe diem theme to express both public and private situation. His poetry takes the responses to all the political crisis as its full content and argument. By doing so, his poetry shows how the poet can demonstrate his own awareness of time and events, and weave them into the poetry. His poetry is thus determined by his political perspective which combined religion and politics. Not only does he hope that the Anglican Church remains an essential part of the religion, he also hope that this continuity occurs through a dynamic process of transmission and augmentation. His achievement, ultimately, lies not in analysing much or in doing it well, but in providing the inestimable example of showing that literary analyses is possible at all. Herrick's view on politics is royal undoubtfully, but it is for the survival of Anglican Church mainly. His celebrations of royalist triumphs in the Civil War, and his intimate reflections on it, all testify to his political engagement.