I Am A Dark Cloud

“Carpe diem” is a Latin phrase that is commonly translated as “seize the day.” Many poems contain ideas that are similar to that of carpe diem. They discuss how one must cherish every moment of his or her life because life is limited and will eventually come to an end. Andrew Marvell’s poem, “To His Coy Mistress,” is an example of a carpe diem themed poem. Through the use of invigorating imagery, multiple tones, and thought-provoking metaphors Marvell develops an allegory for living every second of life to its fullest.

Buddha, a man who devoted himself to years of contemplation and self-denial, once said “do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment”. Thinking too much about times gone by typically keeps your mind stuck in neutral. Existing in an earlier life could result in revisiting feelings of anger, guilt, resentment, sorrow, or shame. Obsessing about the people and events precipitating such negative feelings can lead to endless rethinking. Becoming increasingly lifeless, or infatuated, thinking really cannot progress toward any resolution. Ultimately, it is pointless to employ memory to hold onto what may have been lost many years ago. As a result of not letting go of the past, it is possible to be robbed of present opportunities. Often, in many novels the characters are still dwelling on their past in the present. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author demonstrates how George Wilson and Jay Gatsby are held hostage by their pasts with little hope for their futures.

I say “carpe diem” because, to me, the essays convey the message that we are all going to die someday so we must make the most of the time we are allotted. The most evident symbols of this underlying theme are the dying moth in Woolf’s essay and E. B. White’s realization that time waits for no one in his. As grim as they may be, these two

always wins and people are old before they know it (Herrick 385). The meaning and theme of carpe diem is clearly described in the four stanzas of the poem.

Often times we find ourselves thinking about the past only to try to force the memories away and return to our current delusion. We can never erase the past, but if the past is who we are, then should we just welcome pain back into our lives? Embarrassment, guilt, and pride betray us as we choose to bury our darkest memories in our head and look to a positive future without ever having to readdress them and acknowledge that they had ever happened in the first place. Thinking back now my weakest moment caught me by complete surprise.

In the poem “Carpe Diem” the speaker, Horace, is giving advice to the reader in a very serious manner. He is advising the reader to live life to the fullest and never take anything for granted. Meanwhile, Robert Herrick is giving the same advice but in a more light-hearted manner. Furthermore, in “Carpe Diem” and “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time, symbolism and different tones are utilized to portray the theme of living in the moment.

Carpe diem is when the author makes the reader understand that they are trying to tell them to live to their fullest. In both “To His Coy Mistress” and “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” the author mentions how they should live like it’s their last day and to make the best out of it. Also beauty takes a big role in both poems and how one day it will fade, so for them to take advantage of it now before it fades.

The irony of the whole situation is that you cannot ever forget the past you just really learn how to deal with it. You learn what was then is not what is now and you learned to move on with life know that from time to time you will have to deal with flashbacks of the past. “In my head my life was normal,” (126). But in his reality he knew there was something wrong.

The words carpe diem mean “seize the day” in Latin. It is a theme that has been used throughout the history of literature and has been a popular philosophy in teaching from the times of Socrates and Plato up to the modern English classroom. Carpe diem says to us that life isn’t something we have forever, and every passing moment is another opportunity to make the most out of the few precious years that we have left. In the poems “A Fine, a Private Place” by Diane Ackerman and “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, carpe diem is the underlying theme that ties them together, yet there are still a few key differences throughout each of these two poems that shows two very different perspectives on how one goes about seizing their day.

O’Brien describes that memories can affect one’s emotions in a detrimental way over time. Reflecting on memories that one felt affected them negatively can be bad for the mind and cause them emotional turmoil. O’Brien describes a “hard story to tell (O’Brien 172).” “For more than twenty years,” O’Brien, “had to live with...the shame.” O’Brien had been “trying to push (the memory) away,” The event O’Brien reminisces on

Choices define who we are, good or bad they should be meaningful. Carpe diem is a method of thinking that represents seizing the day. How people seize the day can be very different. it can be having the courage to say something to a girl, standing up for a kid being bullied or following your dreams and participating in a play. Mr. Keating is as a very flamboyant English teacher at the Welton Academy. He is very enthusiastic about teaching English and very passionate about ensuring that his students understand the power of carpe diem; which is viewed as an almost taboo subject in the preppy boys school. Nevertheless he goes to great lengths to introduce the carpe diem lifestyle and mentality to his class.

"Never forget the past…because it may haunt you forever. Regret all the bad things…cherish the good things. Look ahead always…but don't let the bad things from the past get in your mind." As a young child, there were so many incidents in my life that made me become the person I am today. There were rough times as well as good times. If I were to tell you all of them, I would remember half of them. I think some of my incidents really had some impact, and some were just simple ways of life. To tell you the truth, the incident that had the most impact on me has to be when my real father left me at the age of three. I never knew my father. I mean being a baby, you really have no experience or recognition of somebody else.

The concept of carpe diem has been a part of society for a long time it has been used and translated in many ways. In todays society people translate seizing the day as a way of living their life in the moment and living each moment to the fullest by pursuing ones desires. Christians follow a biblical worldview and live in light of scripture, which means following God’s message from the bible in hopes of reaching perpetuity. Analyzing today’s society and the meaning of carpe diem, there can be good and bad aspects in relation with Christian views. There are good views on the aspect of moving on from past mistakes and striving to be the best person one can be. There can be bad views within the aspect of the way people go about seizing their days.

Everyone’s past can have some bumps in the road that can result in misery, regret but also happiness. But it can also play an important role

Years have passed, my teenage years, even up until present, as an adult, the past seems to creep up from deep inside my soul to the surface on every January and the reflection of that memory makes my heart ache. The questions of why run through