The Argument of His Book

“The Argument of His Book” was not published on its own as a single poem, but rather as part of Herrick’s collection Hesperides (1648). Some have likened “The Argument of His Book” to a “table of contents” at the opening of Herrick’s lyrical volume. In his article “The ‘Argument’ and the Opening of Robert Herrick’s ‘Book,’” Thomas Moisan analyzes how this particular poem of Herrick’s prepares readers for what is to come in the rest of the collection. According to Moisan, the poem tells readers:

not only what to expect to find therein, but how and when and when not to read it, whom we are to blame for any ‘Transgressions’ we find in it - and whom, by implication we are not to blame and what we are not to suppose are transgressions - when we have reached its midpoint, and when we have drawn close to its end. (130)

“The Argument of His Book” serves then, in Moisan’s view, as a miniature of the entire work. The poem cannot be fully comprehended without this contextualization of the larger work in which it resides.

Another important aspect of this literary contextualization is the genre of lyrical poetry. Lyrics were the main form of poetry in 17th century England.