What is a carpe diem poem? The Latin words carpe diem means seize the day. In a carpe diem poem, the narrator of the poem tries to get the position across that life is minuscule, and you should take hold of what you can before it passes you by. Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" is one of the most renowned carpe diem poems ever written. Everything in this poem screams carpe diem poem. We have also read Rich's poem "Living in Sin" which is just the opposite of Marvell's poem. It is spoken from a women point of view that seized the day and now she is wondering why she made the choice that she made. The next few words are going to prove that "Living in Sin" is an anti-carpe diem poem. .
In a carpe diem poem, the speaker is usually a man speaking to the person he loves, telling them all of the things that they could have, if they would come with him. "To His Coy Mistress", is broken up into three different paragraphs. In the opening of his poem, Marvell starts out by talking about how long has he loved her and how long his love for her will last. "I would / Love you ten years before the Flood" (7-8), then finishes up by saying "Till the conversion of the Jew" (10). That is a very long time to love someone. In the rest of the poem, the speaker goes though what will happen if she does not go with him right now. He says that time is moving fast towards them, and that she will not have her youthful hue for very much longer, and while she has it, she should not waste any time and become his women. While they are both in their prime, they should have the time of their lives, not worry about anything, and just go with the flow. That's all good, but that is not reality and Rich's poem shows what happens when you have the mind frame. "Living in Sin" begins with a women narrator talking about how her life turned out, after seizing the day like Marvell tells you to do in "To His Coy Mistress.