"The Argument of His Book" By Robert Herrick And Its Connection With Horace

Robert Herrick is one of the important Cavalier poets of 17th century England. Herrick is mostly known for “Hesperides” which is a collection of poetry and has 1200 lyrical poems in it.

The Argument of His Book is an initial poem written by Robert Herrick in 1648. This lyric poem is like an opening poem of “Hesperides”, and also is a reflection of his himself. It investigates that the transformation of art is formed by the surge of nature. The themes of the poem are nature, religion, and self-reflection. It contains seven rhymes, and each couplet starts with “I sing” or “I write”. It is a sonnet written in 14 lines. The rhyme of the poem is like aa bb cc… The poem summarizes some topics of “Hesperides”. This “Argument” word represents the “theme” and “contents” indeed, not proof."

Horace is a Roman poet in the Augustan period. He sees nature as the main source of poetry. He defends that the poet should imitate the old poets besides imitating the nature of the poetry. What's more, he gives the importance of the poet knowing the literary tradition and respecting that. The poet should create new works in these contexts. Additionally, Horace believes that literature's supreme aim is to “teach and delight”. He creates the term “dulce et utile” for this. The poet must make the literary work both “useful and enjoyable”. Robert Herrick uses this poetry style. His words and writing style make the reader more enjoyable. He aims the reader to know about his personality by choosing enjoyable words. Natural and human being elements of the poetry make the poetry instructive and delightful.

Based on Greek practice, Horace thinks that the subject and meter of the poem are interconnected with each other. The meter of The Argument of His Book is written with iambic pentameter. Horace claims that the iambic meter is necessary for lyrical poems, tragedy, satirical verse, and also comedy.

Horace says that the poet is an imitator of real life, and the poet should make a subject or theme from real life and also a human being. Moreover, Horace says that the poet should choose the subject of the poem simply, and the poet should not choose the subject as irrelevant and purposeless. If the poet indicates the subject clearly and truly, the poet and poetry create an image in society. The Argument of His Book is the definition of Herrick's personality and thoughts. He uses a simple theme for this poem. 

If we look at the role of nature and also art in poetry, for Horace, both training (art) and genius (nature) are very important in poetry. These lead poetry to success. Through training, the poet can catch great success in poetry. These are important in poetry for Horace. According to "The Argument of His Book", Robert Herrick uses flowers in the poem. Shortly, Horace and Herrick like flowers. Robert Herrick uses roses, lilies, and violets in his poems. If we look at "The Argument of His Book", he uses “the roses”, “the lilies”, “July flowers”, and “blossoms” as the flowers. Moreover, both poets like animals and use those in their literary works. For example; Herrick uses “the birds” in "The Argument of His Book".

The other resembles of Horace and Herrick is their love of nature. Robert Herrick reflects on his love of nature in "The Argument of His Book". For instance, Robert Herrick uses the “flowers”, “brooks”, “groves”, “twilights”, “dews”, and “rains” in this poem. Herrick's passion for love shows the reality of the resemblance to Horace.

Besides, Herrick has knowledge of Greek and also Roman antiquities and uses these in his poetry. Herrick and Horace love country life and also human beings. They show these in their literary works. For example, Herrick mentions “May-poles”, “wassails”, “hock-carts” and “wakes” in the third line. These two poets have an interest in the country and its people.

With some religious terms, they seem a little bit the same. These two poets write their religious poems with deep religious emotion. Herrick mentions some ritual elements, such as “Hell and Heaven” in this poem. What's more, Herrick's works include pure lyrics like Horace's works. One of Herrick's those lyrics is "The Argument of His Book".