Carpe diem
A Latin phrase ('seize the day') that became a major literary theme, particularly in love poetry. Carpe diem poems urge lovers to embrace love immediately because youth and beauty are transient and death is inevitable.
Real World
Andrew Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress' (1681) is the classic carpe diem poem: he tells his lover that 'worms shall try / That long-preserved virginity' — using the inevitability of death as a seduction argument.
Exam Focus
Distinguish sincere celebration of the present from cynical seduction argument; examiners reward nuanced reading of speaker motivation.
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