There are clearly opposing views of how individuals should spend the short time they have on earth. In George Herbert’s poem, “Virtue”, and in Edmund Waller’s poem, “Go, Lovely Rose”, the poets have contradicting values of what should be done with our time on earth. Herbert is a puritan who believes that earthly pleasures should be ignored, as life should be spent preparing for another world after death. In contrast, Waller suggests individuals take advantage of earth’s beauty and surrender to life pleasures. Though both poems recognize the ideal world that surrounds us, “Virtue” indicates earthly pleasures should be ignored, while “Go, Lovely Rose” suggests we succumb to the bliss of life. Herbert begins the poem with an appropriate title, “Virtue”, which helps convey the underlying meaning of the poem. A short definition of virtue is moral goodness. The decisions individuals make in life should be moral and exclude earthly distractions. People should spend their time on earth preparing for the next place after death. Through the title, the author already examines how ethical decisions are the road to salvation.The poem “Virtue” acknowledges secular wonders that surround us everyday, but the poem also recognizes that these wonders are unimportant. To indulge and be intrigued by earthly pleasures is mindless behavior. The “rash gazer” (Herbert 6) is mindlessly obsessed by the world and follows urges with no purposeful intent. Obsession with worldly pleasures is useless as it does not better an individuals soul. This behavior distracts people from preparing for the next world as earthly influences cloud the path to righteousness. Herbert recognizes consequences of indulging in worldly impulses as by doing so is a sin. The “Sweet day” (Herbert 1), “Sweet Rose” (Herbert 5) and the “Sweet Spring...
