source of their patronage and recognition.

The literature of this period mirrored the unique values of court society. These literary works emphasized a hierarchical order that required loyalty to both the Church of England and the monarch. Robert M. Adams, in his analysis of the era, asserts that the Elizabethan monarchy and the Church achieved such high and powerful status due to a strong belief in "the inevitable structure of things, the natural pattern of the world." This hierarchical view was centered on the great chain of being, where, as Adams explains, "every creature had his place in the great order of divine appointments; and the different families of being were bound together by a chain of universal analogy."

These values continued into James I's reign, fostering literature that was elaborate, ornate, and rich with allusions to significant events, literature, or individuals. Popular themes included the heroic passions: love, which might or might not lead to marriage; aggression, often resulting in war without a specific political cause; and the desire for a deeper connection with God, expressed through devotional piety. Honor emerged as the guiding principle in these works.

Seventeenth-Century Poetry

One of the most pivotal events of the seventeenth century was the Puritan Revolution from 1640 to 1660. The Puritans criticized literary works that were not focused on religious themes and that expressed excessive emotion. Most literature of the time, except for the works of John Milton, did not show clear sympathy with Puritan beliefs, which had started to surface in the years leading up to the revolution. Nonetheless, a challenge to tradition and a desire for social and political change began to manifest, reflecting the revolutionary spirit of the era. This period saw the emergence of two distinct poetic groups: the metaphysical poets led by Donne, which included George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Henry Vaughan, Abraham Cowley, and John Cleveland, and Jonson and "Ben's Sons," the Cavalier poets Thomas Carew, Robert Herrick, Sir John Suckling, Edmund Waller, and Sir William Davenant. Although there was some overlap, these two schools were characterized by distinct features.

J. A. Cuddon, in his Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, describes the metaphysical poets as creators of deeply intellectual and philosophical poetry. These poets employed striking and "original images and conceits . . ., wit, ingenuity, dexterous use of colloquial speech, [and] considerable flexibility of rhythm and meter." Their works explored "complex themes (both sacred and profane)" through "a liking for paradox [contradictions] . . . a direct manner, a caustic [biting] humour, a keenly felt awareness of mortality . . . and . . . compact expression."

In contrast, Jonson and the Cavalier poets modified the traditional sonnet form, producing works that utilized direct, often colloquial language. The term "Cavalier" reflects these poets' rejection of earnestness or intensity. They continued to uphold the ideal of the Renaissance man—lover, wit, soldier, poet—while steering clear of traditional religious themes. Robert C. Evans, in his article on Jonson for the Dictionary of Literary Biography, discusses Jonson's impact on this poetic school. Evans highlights that Jonson's "'plain style' made him a pivotal figure in a central tradition, but his deceptively complex works reward close reading." Evans considers Jonson's work to be "sophisticated, self-conscious, and heavily influenced by the Greek and Roman classics," yet it "rarely seems foreign or artificial. His vigorous and colloquial style exemplifies both extensive reading and a strong interest in 'reality.'"

The sonnet, the most favored poetic form at the end of the Elizabethan age and the start of the Jacobean age (early 1600s), declined in popularity in the latter half of the seventeenth century. Blank verse (unrhymed verse) gave way to the couplet (a pair of rhyming verse lines), which provided a skilled meter for expressing contrasting viewpoints, a technique popularized by John Dryden. By the century's end, satirical poetry, which ridicules vices, follies, and abuses, became fashionable. The preferred form for satirical poets was the closed or heroic couplet, a verse couplet that ends with a strong conclusion. This form was developed by Sir John Denham and Edmund Waller and perfected by Andrew Marvell, Dryden, and Alexander Pope. Dryden established himself as the leading satirist of the era with works such as Absalom and Achitophel (1681), The Medal (1682), Mac Flecknoe (1682), and The Hind and the Panther (1687).

Seventeenth-Century Song

Some poems, like William Blake's Songs of Innocence, are termed songs even though they are not set to music; the term generally refers to a poem intended to be sung or chanted, with or without musical accompaniment. This form gained popularity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with its two most renowned composers being Thomas Campion ("There is a Garden in Her Face") and John Dowland ("Weep you no more, sad fountains"). In the seventeenth century, poets such as Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Jonson, Milton, and Dryden wrote highly praised songs for plays and masques, as well as nondramatic verse.

Jonson placed greater emphasis on the importance of rhyme in his lyric poetry compared to his predecessors, emphasizing a sense of proportion and structural elegance. His compositions displayed classical restraint and a concise style, avoiding extravagance and mannerism (the overuse of a distinctive style). Jonson's "sons" continued this tradition, evident in the lyrics of Herrick and Carew, as well as those by William Cartwright, Thomas Randolph, and Waller. Their lyrics' orderly structure and grace were further enhanced by replacing the Petrarchan language of humble adoration with the language of courtly gallantry.

The lyric is dominated by two images: wine and the rosy wreath. The first octet offers a series of possible substitutions—love favors—that the poet is willing to accept in lieu of the traditional wine. Wine implies intoxication, the delirium of love, but also sensual gratification. The substitutes that the poet is willing to accept seem more ethereal: the glance, the kiss in a cup. Indeed, the wine itself becomes rarefied into Jove’s nectar, a divine drink that reputedly had a rejuvenating effect—the same effect that Celia has on the poet.

The wreath dominates the second octet. It is a more concrete pledge than those requested in the first part of the poem, but it is rejected. The rose is the archetypal symbol of love in the English tradition. The wreath consists of a number of roses woven into a circle, which is itself a symbol of eternity. The eternal devotion that was the hallmark of the more spiritual love popularized by Petrarch is combined, then, with the sensual. While the circle may imply eternal love, the wreath’s nonstatic quality is emphasized: “it grows, and smells.” These flowers are still alive, growing as does the poet’s love.

Finally, the wreath, an interweaving of flowers, stands for this poem itself, which is an ingenious interweaving of excerpts from the classical source. The weaving finds its analogue in the rhyme scheme of the poem. The short lines of both octets revolve on single rhymes and thus bind the poem together. The wreath itself has passed from the poet to the lover and back to the poet, describing in its movement a circle. It is the only physical thing that links the two, besides the poem itself.

This poem has a remarkably regular iambic meter that produces its lyrical quality. The only significant break in the rhythm is a caesura in the final line between “itself” and “but.” This pause draws attention to the final qualification in the poem. While the other qualifications undercut the ideal and metaphoric, this final qualification asserts the lover as an ideal who changes reality—she has altered the wreath. The caesura also lends emphasis to the concluding “but thee.” The poem ends with the lover, a marked contrast from the beginning of the poem, which emphasizes the poet.

Sound

The repetition of sounds in poetry can highlight important words and images, thereby creating a poetic structure. Additionally, these sounds can be pleasing to the ear. Jonson employs alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds, in line 6 with the words "drink" and "divine" to underscore the value the speaker places on his mistress's kiss. He uses this technique again in line 9 with "rosy" and "wreath," emphasizing her connection to nature. Jonson also forges a link between the speaker and his mistress using consonance, the repetition of final consonant sounds, along with strategic word placement. He concludes lines 2, 4, 6, and 8 with "mine," "wine," "divine," and "thine," respectively, suggesting that their union would be more divine than wine. The placement of these rhyming words at the ends of the lines reinforces this idea.

Language

The poem's appeal likely stems from its use of straightforward, clear language that is easy for readers to understand. Robert C. Evans, in his article on Jonson for the Dictionary of Literary Biography, asserts that Jonson's "'plain style' was neither artless nor completely transparent" and that it avoids the extremes of "sublimity and vulgarity." Evans contends that Jonson's style was "intended to communicate, to have an impact, and it gives his poetry a directness, practicality, seriousness, and force that more elevated, lower, or more complex phrasing would obscure."

These qualities are evident in "Song: To Celia," where the lyrics resemble rhymed prose more than traditional poetry. The speaker focuses on actions rather than elaborate metaphors to express his love for his lady. He does not lavishly describe any distinctive features of his lady's eyes, kisses, or breath. Instead, he concentrates on his reactions to her promises to him. This plain language of love contrasts with the elaborate conceits found in John Donne's poetry, such as in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," where the speaker describes himself and his love's souls as "stiff twin compasses": "Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show / To move, but doth, if th' other do."

• 1600s: Men seeking to win over their lovers would serenade them with lyrics penned by poets such as Jonson and Campion.

  Today: Valentine's Day has become highly profitable for companies like Hallmark, as the favored expression of love is now a card, often featuring a verse that conveys a manufactured sentiment.

• 1600s: Love sonnets and songs followed specific styles and forms, utilizing structured rhythm and rhyme schemes.

  Today: Contemporary poetry is frequently identified by its free verse and lack of formal structure.

• 1600s: Despite the Church of England's dominance in Britain, poets often referenced Greek and Roman deities in their work, as Jonson does when his speaker likens his lady's kisses to Jove's nectar.

  Today: Most modern poetry is secular, reflecting the diminishing influence of religion on the arts. However, religious groups are becoming more politically engaged as the nation is divided between conservative and liberal views.

Sources

Adams, Robert M., "The Seventeenth Century (1603–1660)," in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1, edited by M. H. Abrams, W. W. Norton, 1979, pp. 1049–58.

Bamborough, J. B., "Jonson's Poetry, Prose and Criticism," in Ben Jonson, Hutchinson, 1970, pp. 151–76.

Chute, Marchette, Ben Jonson of Westminster, E. P. Dutton, 1965, p. 237.

Cuddon, J. A., "Metaphysical," in A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 3rd ed., Blackwell Reference, 1991, pp. 543–45.

Donne, John, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed., edited by M. H. Abrams, W. W. Norton, 1993, pp. 1069–70.

Evans, Robert C., "Ben Jonson," in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 121: Seventeenth-Century British Nondramatic Poets, First Series, edited by M. Thomas Hester, Gale Research, 1992, pp. 186–212.

Gosse, Edmund, "Ben Jonson—Chapman," in The Jacobean Poets, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894, pp. 23–46.

Griffiths, J. Gwyn, "A Song from Philostratos," in Greece and Rome, Vol. 11, No. 23, May 1942, pp. 135–36.

Jonson, Ben, "Song: To Celia," in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed., edited by M. H. Abrams, W. W. Norton, 1993, pp. 1225–26.

Parfitt, G. A. E., "The Nature of Translation in Ben Jonson's Poetry," in Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900, Vol. 13, No. 2, Spring 1973, pp. 344–59.

Summers, Claude J., Classic and Cavalier: Celebrating Jonson and the Sons of Ben, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1982, pp. xi–xvii.

Symonds, John Addington, Ben Jonson, D. Appleton, 1886.

Van Deusen, Marshall, "Criticism and Ben Jonson's 'To Celia,'" in Essays in Criticism, Vol. 7, 1957, pp. 95–103.

Further Reading

Bentley, Gerald Eades, Shakespeare and Jonson: Their Reputations in the Seventeenth Century Compared, 2 vols., University of Chicago Press, 1945.

This comparative study by Bentley highlights the poetic talents of these two literary giants.

Eckhard, Auberlen, The Commonwealth of Wit: The Writer's Image and His Strategies of Self-Representation in Elizabethan Literature, Gunter Narr Verlag, 1984.

This book delves into Jonson's portrayal of himself in his works within the framework of Elizabethan literature.

Levin, Harry, "An Introduction to Ben Jonson," in Ben Jonson: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Jonas A. Barish, Prentice Hall, 1963, pp. 40–59.

Levin's introduction reveals several key misconceptions about Jonson's work.

Riggs, David, Ben Jonson: A Life, Harvard University Press, 1989.

Riggs provides an in-depth examination of Jonson and the period in which he lived and wrote.