Final answer:
The poems "To His Coy Mistress" and "Twenty-One Love Poems (Poem III)" both explore the carpe diem theme, encouraging enjoying the present before it fades. These works suggest life's transience as motivation for immediate action and love. The idea is echoed in various time periods and through different poets, all stressing the importance of seizing the day.
Step-by-step explanation:
The theme of carpe diem is well-explored in the poems "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell and "Twenty-One Love Poems (Poem III)" which both encourage the reader to seize the day and enjoy the present moment. Marvell's poem speaks through the voice of a lover persuading his mistress to cast aside her coyness and indulge in love before it is too late, using dramatic imagery to express the fleeting nature of time. He argues that due to the constraints of mortality, they must act on their desires today rather than waiting indefinitely.
On the other hand, the themes in other poems, such as Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," similarly focus on enjoying the current time. Herrick's poem directly advises to 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,' representing life's fleeting beauty. This, similar to Marvell's approach, encourages readers to appreciate and utilize the present before it fades away.
Other examples of carpe diem in literature include reflections on love and existence from different eras. The quote from Daisy Dunn's "Catullus' Bedspread," for example, suggests that the raw emotion and directness in Catullus' poems demonstrate an understanding of seizing life passionately, which is in line with the carpe diem philosophy.
These literary works, from different periods, use the carpe diem theme to underline the reasons for making the most out of the moment, holding the core idea that life is transient, and love, as a quintessential human experience, is to be embraced fully and immediately. The motivations for this embrace span from the brevity of youth to the finite nature of life and the impending inevitability of death. All of which serve as compelling reasons to revel in the beauty of the present, encourage action over postponement, and engage deeply with the affairs of the heart.