Carpe Diem (An Insight through Ages)----> By Gurumoorthy Iyer

23 May, 2024

It was a la mode tagline, coined by Kay Jewellers in 1985, to make a cheugy, a millennial tick. 
Recently, ‘Nattu, Nattu, Nattu’, a beguiling catchy jingle, won an Oscar! 
Way back, a catchy neologism - ‘Carpe Diem’ festooned the Teacups and T-shirts.                                                                  The famous actress Judi Dench had the motto 'Carpe Diem, tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday. 

So, what is so special in that fascinating phrase, 'Carpe Diem’ that even metaphysical poets found it an inspirational theme?

Ab Initio 

‘Carpe Diem’, had its debut in a poem titled, ‘De rosis nascentibus’, attributable to the ancient Roman poets, ‘‘Virgil’, containing the phrase, “Gather, girls, the roses”.

With its Latin origin, Carpe Diem means, ‘Seize the day (Before sunset)’. The Latin expression, “carpe diem quam minimum credula postero,” was first tailored by Horace, a Roman poet of 65 BCE-8 BCE in his poem Odes (I.11), published in 23 BCE.

Following Horace, this phrase had also been used, in another ancient epic poem titled, 'Gilgamesh’, Mesopotamian mythology, written during the second millennium (BCE). This was about the protagonist of the poem, Gilgamesh(c 2500-130BCE) who was the king of the Sumerian city, in the state of Uruk. The poem details the exploits of the king, Gilgamesh. Below are some quotes from that epic poem, a ‘Carpe Diem’ as per the version of the tavern keeper,  

                                                                        Let a wife enjoy your repeated embrace!"-

                                                                              (OB Gilgamesh, iii, lines 3-13)

                                                    “Seize the present; trust tomorrow e'en as little as .....” ---- Odes- 1.11

Metaphysical Poets  

 One of the 17th-century poems, “To His Coy Mistress”, was well known among the poetic wonks for its ‘Conceits’, along with surprising metaphors whose delights are more intellectual than sensual. Andrew Marvel had demystified this phrase, ‘Carpe Diem’, in the following lines:                                                             

In these few lines, Marvell tries to explicitly explain the import of ‘Carpe Diem’ by using the figure of speech with hyperbole. The poet advises his Mistress that if they had a lot of time and space at their disposal, they could enjoy a leisurely act of love, but unfortunately, life is short and she must act fast”. He had emphatically highlighted the uncertainty of life. The poem, ‘To His Coy Mistress’,  written in 'Iambic tetrameter’ in rhyming couplets with plenty of figures of speech, should certainly be a feast or those who love poetics. Also, significantly the first two lines of the poem deserve two other comments. The first one is the use of hyperbole, the one mentioned 

above. The second thing is the use of Einstein's, four-dimensional mathematical object, 'Space-time' as a metaphor, by the literary scholar Mikhail Bakhtin to explain his concept of 'chronotope'(temporal and spatial connectedness) that is artistically expressed in literature.

Earlier to him, William Shakespeare had also dealt with the maxim of Carpe Diem, in a song, forming part of his drama, ‘Twelfth Night’, consisting of six lines in each of the three stanzas, so as to form a ‘sestet’.            

     “O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
                                                       O stay and hear! Your true love’s coming                                                    
That can sing both high and low;
Trip no further, pretty sweeting,
Journey’s end in lovers’ meeting–
Every wise man’s son doth know.”

This  stanza had been designed, as an archetypal representation of ‘Carpe Diem’-  ‘Journey’s end in lovers meeting.’ There is an unintentionally transferred epithet in these lines. As per the ‘Advaita principles’ (an Indian Philosophical concept), the union of Atman( soul) and Brahman (the Almighty) is the ultimate goal of human existence. Once the human soul gets united with Brahman, then that is the end of the vicious circle of deaths and rebirths. For such people, there is no rebirth. They attain a blissful state.

“What is love? ’tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What’s to come is still unsure:
In delay, there lies no plenty,–
Then come kiss me, Sweet and twenty,
Youth’s a stuff will not endure..”

 Shakespeare exegetically interprets the philosophical term, uncertainty. 

‘Present mirth hath present laughter;
What’s to come is still unsure:’

“You can’t expect youthfulness to be forever. Soon the aging process takes out the charm in life. Therefore, this is the time to make merry to the summit. There is no reason to postpone today’s enjoyment for tomorrow, for tomorrow is uncertain.”

Without mentioning John Donne, the father of metaphysical poets, the era of the metaphysicists will not be complete. His famous poem, the ‘Flea’ can’t be missed in this context. As in the poem ‘To His Coy Mistress’, John Donne also preferred to explain the concept of Carpe Diem, with a metaphor, using a flea as their marriage bed. 

The poet figures his speech with the ornamental usage of the extended metaphor to illustrate that his mistress has already been seduced and there is no reason why she should hesitate.

“Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.”

     Now the poet has come to the core of the subject, ‘Carpe Diem’. The poet highlights the fleeting nature of time. “The flea has died. You should know, our life is a fragile one. It will not be far off for us to follow suit. Better we get married without further wasting our precious life.”

Cavalier Poets (17th Century)

In England, the 17th-century poets were known as Cavalier poets. The poems they wrote were known as Cavalier poetries. Cavalier poetry is different from the 16^th  metaphysical poetry, written by those like John Donne, Andrew pleasureissuesMarvel, Shakespeare, etc. The Cavalier poets, instead of tackling the like religion, philosophy, etc, aimed to express the joy of celebrity things much more pleasant than the works of their metaphysical poets. These cavalier poets were supporters of King Charles -I, who was an aesthete. Some of the Cavalier poets are, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Thomas Carew, and Sir John Suckling. 

In this context, it is worth mentioning Robert Herrick's classic carpe diem poem 'Gather ye rosebuds while 'ye may', which forms part of his poem, ‘?

’, which was included in his book ‘Hesperides’, (best known for poems), is a throwback to the Latin sentiment expressed in Horace’s carpe diem; that is: 'seize the day,  Don't tarry or waste time: 

The poet uses the word ‘roses’ to signify its decaying nature as a metaphor to highlight the fleeting nature of life. “Please remember that you do not have much time. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, will soon set down. Our life, like the day, is vanishing fast. We have just one life, so grasp the opportunity. It is time to make the most of it.”  

Modern Poets (20th Century)

The poet delves into the fact that England, during his generation, looked mechanically steered, and people at that time were quite busy. Since they were under pressure on their routines all day, they had to forego the option of availing pleasure of the day to a greater extent. While it is necessary to seize the day and live in the present, it is also essential that there won’t be a present without planning on the previous day, and the present day should also nourish a rosy future. All these are at a cost, that is the present day. The poet thus, rewrites the aphorism, ‘Carpe Diem’, stressing the importance of the welfare of the future, over the present.

Carpe Diem in the Indian Context:                                                                                     

Among the ancient Indian philosophers, who advocated the principle of Carpe Diem, was one by the name, of Charvaka, (around 500-600 BCE), a controversial philosopher, who preached his philosophy ‘Lokayata’ says, “Life is only once, and hence, ‘eat well, drink well, and enjoy merrily’! You will not get another opportunity, as there won’t be any rebirth!”  

“While life is yours, live joyously;
None can escape Death's searching eye:
When once this frame of ours they burn,
How shall it e'er again return?”(Sarva Darsana Samgraha)

But many opposed him, chastising him as an agnostic, as most Indian philosophers at that time believed, that ‘life is a vicious cycle of birth and rebirth whereas worldly enjoyments are transient in nature. Instead of resorting to worldly pleasures, people should meditate on God to come out of this vicious cycle and get united with God!’ 

After Charvaka, there were not many followers of his heterodox school of philosophy, as people believed in Vedic philosophy, and thus vehemently opposed the Charvaka philosophy.  

What is the correct interpretation of the Phrase ‘Carpe Diem’

 ‘The essence of time’, which is part of the phrase, ‘Carpe Diem’, had been correctly recognized, only in the later periods. The famous rhyme of Sant Kabirdas is worth mentioning here:

Meaning,

Tomorrow’s work do today; And Today’s work now;

If some Pralaya takes place (if tomorrow is lost), how can the work be done? 

Incidentally, forty four of Saint Kabirdas'’ ecstatic poems have been translated by Robert Bly, a  famous American poet, editor, and translator.

Thiruvalluvar, a Tamil saint-poet, who is believed to have been living during the 5^th century, has composed the ‘Thirukural’, a book par excellence, consisting of 1330 verses (and each is called in Tamil: குறள்), arranged into 133 chapters. Each ‘kural’ is composed, in a ‘Venmba’ format of a couplet, the first line with four meters and only three in the second line. It contains philosophical advice and moral teachings to lead an ideal human life. In one of such kurals, Valluvar narrates highlighting the importance of time. He says that timely help to the needy is greater than the measure of the world.

“காலத்தினாற்  செய்த நன்றி சிறிதெனினும்
ஞாலத்தின் மாணப் பெரிது.”

 Let us see how the Persian mathematician and poet, 

Omar Khayyam (1048-1131AD), had interpreted the phrase, ‘Carpe Diem’. 

Final wrap-up

We saw, in the earlier days, Carpe Diem, had been defined to mean, “Pluck the day’ or Seize the day”, which amounts to saying, ’Make Hay While Sun Shines.’ But as to its purpose, it has been variously interpreted by different poets. By and large, the poets defined it to mean seeking  a  fleeting pleasure.

However the latter poets like poetess Emily Dickinson defined it differently.

In her poem, ‘I tie my Hat- I crease my Shawl’ - Dickinson elaborates on how people circumscribe themselves, choosing to perform the minutia of daily life, with meticulous perfection, having lost their senses to realize the meaningfulness of life. She highlights that out of ignorance, people struggle for day-to-day survival, which is only momentary in nature, rather than envisaging a meaningful life. Let us search for what is enshrined within the phrase, meaningfulness.

With the same intent but with an emphatic expression, we find a Japanese proverb ‘Iki Gai’- where 'iki ' means life and 'gai' means purpose. Thus                                                                    

Ikigai moderates the tenor of Carpe Diem, by modifying its term to mean that the pursuit should be for a purposeful life and not one of ephemeral sensual enjoyment.

Again Emily Dickinson beautifully handled the principle with an evocatively extended metaphor, in her poem, ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’. She beautifully recaptures her reminiscences of the ever-giving, selflessness of nature of hope, a thing with feathers that perches in our soul:

The bird of hope sings even in the most adverse environment, without ever asking for anything in return (never asking for a crump of her in return.)
Lord Tennyson narrates the above principles so vividly, in the prologue to the poem, ‘In Memoriam’, where he narrates:

“Thou madest man, he knows not why,
He thinks he was not made to die;
                                            And thou hast made him: thou art just.”    
                                                                   (Poem ‘Behind the veil’)                                                                                            ‘Man may not understand why he was created, but he must believe that he was not made, simply to die!
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Publisher: Dr.Venkat | rangalakshmii netralaya