eyes. Reasonable expectation, considering that
the poem is called ‘‘The Night Piece: To Julia,’’
can lead the reader to think that these words
refer to Julia’s eyes, that the poem is beginning
with a conventional tribute to the poet’s beloved.
By the end of the line, however, it is clear that the
first words refer not to Julia’s eyes but to the eyes
of a glowworm. The extension of the title, ‘‘To
Julia,’’ indicates not that the poem is dedicated
to Julia but that it is addressed to her. The poet
wants her to have eyes like a glowworm’s so that
she can come to him at night and see her way
clearly. In addition, he wishes for the sky to be
full of shooting stars to illuminate her way and
for elves to accompany her, too, as their eyes also
give off light.
Stanza 2
After having invoked in the first stanza the good
attendants he wishes to accompany his desired
Julia on her way to him, in the second, the poet
enumerates some of the forces he wishes to be
absent. The will-o’-the-wisp is a false and ghostly
light sometimes seen at night, usually over
swamps or bogs. It is, in folklore, often associ-
ated with the devil, and it has the dangerous
power to mislead travelers by its false light. Like-
wise the snake and slowworm—a sluggish reptile
that is a sort of long, fat worm with eyes, sonor-
ously contrasted in the poem with the dazzling
glowworm—are associated with the devil, who
assumed serpentine form when he effected the
fall of man from the blissful seat of Eden by
tempting Eve to eat of the forbidden tree’s
fruit. The poet wishes Julia’s path free of snakes
and false lights. He encourages her to walk with-
out fear and not to linger, not to be afraid of the
night. There will be no ghosts to frighten her, he
adds, teasingly as much as reassuringly.Stanza 3
The third stanza returns to night’s fearfulness.
The poet tells Julia not to be weighed down, not
to be troubled by the darkness. Although the
night is moonless, there are stars, which he com-
pares to innumerable candles that will light her
way to him. Despite his assurance of ample light
from star points, the reader ought to note that
the assignation is to take place under cover of
full darkness—not only at night but on a moon-
less night.Stanza 4
Having shown her that the journey to his door
from hers through the night is one she ought not
to fear making, the poet implores Julia to allow
him to beg her to come to him. Only then does
the poet mention one of Julia’s attributes. He
refers to the color silver and its luminous prop-
erty in relation to Julia’s feet, although the sense
of a silver casting, or the lady as an idol, is also
suggested. He is alluding to the quality of quick-
ness also attributed to silver, or to mercury,
which is called quicksilver. He then suggests
their spiritual and physical communion, as well
as a lover’s worshipful devotion, and again refers
to his lady as a goddess.Themes
Carpe Diem
Carpe diemis a Latin phrase meaning ‘‘seize the
day.’’ It is essentially a philosophy whose sole
tenet is to enjoy what there is to enjoy in the
present, postulating terrestrial experience as
valid in itself. It does not, in the manner of
Puritanism, consider life on earth as only pre-
paratory for an eternal condition after life that
can be attained only through renunciation and
suffering. This philosophy runs through much of
Herrick’s poetry, sometimes pronounced, some-
times submerged. In ‘‘The Night Piece: To
Julia,’’ it is a governing idea at the root of the
entire poem.Safety and Danger
The theme of safety inside a realm of danger as a
practical problem is overt in the poem. Walking
at night, in the dark, is hazardous. DangerousMEDIA
ADAPTATIONS The English composerRoger Quilter (1877–
1953) set ‘‘The Night Piece: To Julia’’ to music
around 1901. It is available on Roger Quilter:
Songs, Vol. 2 (1995).The Night Piece: To Julia