Conscience - “To his Conscience”
Herrick queries, “Can I not sin, but thou wilt be/My private protonotary?/Can I not woo thee to pass by/A short and sweet iniquity?” The rhetorical questions directed to the conscience render the statement a censure of the speaker’s morality, for it reveals the speaker’s transgressions uninterruptedly.
Bad season - "The Bad Season Makes the Poet Sad"
Herrick writes, “Dull to myself, and almost dead to these/My many fresh and fragrant mistresses;/Lost to all music now, since everything”. The ‘bad season’ depicted in the inaugural lines signify a scenery that stimulates melancholic remembrances. Such a scenery initiates a wretched mood that is replicated in the poet’s composition. The fragrance in the scenery is not sufficient to condense the poet’s despondency.
Wantonness - "The Argument of his Book"
Herrick writes, “I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers,Of April, May, of June, and July flowers./I sing of May-poles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes,/Of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal-cakes./I write of youth, of love, and have access.” The symbols outlined above are partially intertwined with impiety. Essentially, flora, innate items, fauna, and human beings undeniably indicate immorality.
