I guess what I like now about Herrick is the variety of approaches to life, but all within a single personality. You get to know him well, and the deployment of a topos like the carpe diem feels sincere, because you feel that is something he identified with when he was writing this poem. He was one of the first poets who taught me how to read him, like many other poets since. It was also probably one of my first experiences in doing this with an early modern poet. Herrick is one of the best connectors I have to my 15 and 16 year-old self.
I don't like biographical approaches, and don't know much about his life, but I feel a very strong personality in his poetry.
I can identify this in time with some precision, because I only attended this school for two years. Ninth grade was at a Junior High School, and I didn't ever make it to 12th grade.
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