Herrick Analysis

Poem Analysis One of the finest poems composed by Robert Herrick, “Corinna’s Going A-Maying,” assumes a theme of nature and man’s interactions within nature, specifically May Day. This celebration was held in numerous cities and was the unofficial commencement of spring. The narrator’s tone is one of great excitement and almost no worries, as he fervently encourages those who surround him to join in the festivities. Herrick combines religious and mythological elements …

…country” (122) as is evident in his use of numerous spring symbols and descriptions. Robert Herrick’s “Corinna’s Going A-Maying” is a classic love invitation developed by descriptions of May Day festivities along with cultural and religious references. George Walton Scott classifies this poem as one Herrick’s best, from both a structural and descriptive angle. Herrick’s timeless classic is a “masquerade set against a pastoral background” but at times can be “overtly serious” (125).