The anonymous voice of the poem serves as a persuasive guide addressing a youthful audience. Driven by a carpe diem mentality, the speaker views life as fleeting and urges immediate action to enjoy its physical pleasures. The speaker may harbor ulterior motives of sexual gratification, hoping the virgins shed their purity, or they simply wish to impart an altruistic warning about the swift passage of time. Utilizing metaphors of wilting flora and a setting sun, the speaker adopts an urgent, commanding tone from the very first line.

The intended audience of the speaker's plea, representing youth, purity, and chastity. They stand in the prime of their lives, characterized by warm blood and high physical energy. Currently acting coy or reserved, they symbolize a hesitation to fully indulge in life's passions before their time runs out. The speaker demands they give up their inhibitions, actively participate in life, and pursue marriage rather than lingering in expectation until their opportunities vanish forever.

A personified entity representing the swift and relentless passage of the hours. Much like a traditional Father Time figure, this force acts as an adversary to youth and beauty. Old Time moves continuously forward, transforming the warmth and prime of early life into the worst times of old age. Described as "still a-flying," this ceaseless presence establishes a sense of melancholy and guarantees that the vibrancy of youth eventually gives way to physical deterioration.

Personified with masculine pronouns, the sun represents the daily cycle of life, clarity, and cosmic energy. Referred to as the glorious lamp of heaven, he races higher into the sky while simultaneously drawing closer to his inevitable setting. His daily journey serves as a direct, visual metaphor for a human lifespan hurtling toward its conclusion, emphasizing the waning, transient nature of human existence.

A personified rose-bud that exhibits the human ability to smile and express positive emotion. Blooming vibrantly for a single day, the flower acts as a fragile emblem of youth, beauty, and physical passion. By tomorrow, the very same bloom faces inevitable wilting and death, visually reinforcing the detrimental effects of time. The roses also carry historical associations with Venus, connecting the flower to the love and fertility the speaker wishes the virgins to embrace.