How could Robert Herrick's poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" be paraphrased and what is it saying?

It is also important to note that the final stanza calls for the virgins to not only live life, but to MARRY:

"Then be not coy, but use your time; / And while ye may goe marry"

In the early modern period, when this poem was written, marriage was considered of utmost importance and a real duty. Marriages were important for the purpose of procreation, and Herrick (though he himself never married) was warning young people against the sin of not following God's commandment to be fruitful.

Unlike some other Carpe Diem poems of the time, such as Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress," to which this poem is often compared, Herrick's poem does not simply encourage a sexual encounter, but incorporates a moral element. He wants the virgins to follow the natural order sanctioned by God--first marriage--then sex and children.

For more information about this poem and Marvell's poem see the links below: