Song: To Celia

Ben Jonson's "Song: To Celia" presents a nuanced portrayal of love, blending realistic and idealistic elements. The poem uses extended metaphors, comparing love to drinking, emphasizing spiritual...

In the poem "Song: To Celia," the speaker says to the eponymous Celia, "But might I of Jove's nectar sup, / I would not change for thine." The speaker's meaning here is that Celia has more to give...

The line "Come, my Celia, let us prove, while we can, the sports of love" from Ben Jonson's poem invites Celia to explore physical love as an amusement or entertainment. "Prove" means to demonstrate,...

In Ben Jonson's poem "Song: To Celia," the speaker sends Celia a rosy wreath not to honor her, but to test her supposed supernatural ability to grant immortality. Although Celia returns the wreath...

"Song: To Celia" by Ben Jonson explores unrequited love through a speaker's attempts to win over his beloved, Celia, who does not reciprocate his feelings. The poem uses metaphors of drinking and...

The poem "Song: To Celia" is about the speaker's love for Celia. In it, the speaker reveals that Celia does not return his love but that he yearns for it. He would accept any sign from her that she...

The meter of this poem is predominantly iambic, but with variations on that. There are no heptameter lines. The rhyme scheme is AAAB (or abab) with the A lines rhyming and the B lines being...

The theme of unrequited love in "To Celia" is evident through the poem's narrative, tone, and mood. The speaker expresses sincere and earnest admiration for Celia, despite her rejection of his love....

The song does not use any adjectives to describe Celia, which is unusual for love poetry of its time. Instead, Ben Johnson employs strong action verbs like "drink," "pledge," and "breathe,"...

In "Song to Celia," the poet asks Celia to drink to him with her eyes, symbolizing a toast without a physical drink. He desires her attention and a sign of her interest, as his longing for her is...

The speaker gives Celia a "rosy wreath," which she returns to him. He claims that it now smells of her rather than roses, suggesting he is not disappointed because it serves as a special reminder of...

In "To Celia," the speaker sends flowers to the beloved not to honor her, but hoping her breath will give them life and prevent them from withering. This act symbolizes her power and the immortality...

In "Song: To Celia," the speaker expresses a willingness to sacrifice the divine nectar of Jove for a kiss from his beloved, Celia. He desires her to leave a metaphorical kiss in a cup by drinking...

In "Song: To Celia," the poet brings out the divine qualities of his lover by preferring drinking from her "divine" soul to drinking the nectar of the gods and by asserting that her breath is life...