synesthesiac
11-04-2007, 02:18 PM
It is Not Growing Like a Tree
by Benjamin Jonson
It is not growing like a tree
In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night -
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.
There is a debate in this poem - would you agree with me that it is about the brevity of life, and how we should experience it to the fullest, even if we live for a long time (oak) or for a few months (lily)?
by Benjamin Jonson
It is not growing like a tree
In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night -
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.
There is a debate in this poem - would you agree with me that it is about the brevity of life, and how we should experience it to the fullest, even if we live for a long time (oak) or for a few months (lily)?