Every individual has the prerogative to take advantage of time or not. "Carpe Diem" is a Latin phrase that means "seize the day," when literally translated into English. Sharing the carpe diem theme, Marlow's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and Herrick's "To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time" vary in similarities and differences in subject, theme, tone, sound, and figures of speech when compared to Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress.".
"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and "To His Coy Mistress" share like and unlike characteristics. In both poems the subjects are the speakers who are attempting to persuade a particular girl to give them their love. The themes differ with "To His Coy Mistress" following the Roman "Carpe Diem" theme while "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" follows a more pastoral theme. The tones are also different. "To His Coy Mistress" is more pessimistic since the speaker talks namely about the negative affects that aging brings to young, available women. "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" is more optimistic by using its wholesome, pastoral characteristics to explain why the girl should love him. Marvell uses an irregular rhyming pattern as a way to relate to the irregularities of life. Marlow follows a couplet rhyme scheme of: aabb ccdd eeff gghh iiaa jjaa. He also uses connotative and concrete diction. Both authors use metaphors and hyperboles to make understatements in the poems. .
"To His Coy Mistress" and "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time" also share like and unlike characteristics. The speakers in both poems are trying to convince women to enjoy love in all aspects, including the physical aspect. Marvell and Herrick, especially Herrick, persuade women away from the conventional idea that one's virginity should be preserved for marriage. This is their way of incorporating the "Carpe Diem" theme into their poems. In "To His Coy Mistress," the speaker leans towards a pessimistic tone as he makes constant references to death and the negative affects it has on young women.