The Presentation of the Beloved in the Poem 'To Celia' Tan Wei Xin 11th Grade

"To Celia" is a four-stanza poem written by Ben Jonson that has been said to be centered around his fellow poet Lady Mary Wroth, who had also been the subject of his other poems such as 'To Penshurst' and 'Sonnet to the Noble Lady, the Lady Mary Wroth'. This poem is essentially a depiction of an exquisite woman that the speaker is romantically interested in. In the first half of the poem 'To Celia', the speaker describes how her smallest of actions would trigger the largest of reactions in his mental state. The speaker then continues the poem by chronicling the events in their relationship. This can be seen through the mention of his decision to send his beloved a rosy wreath, and eventually his beloved's response towards this particular action. It is crystal clear that her every move is of utmost significance to him, and the reader gets a sense of the speaker’s transcendental love for his beloved. Therefore, the question before us is: how was the beloved presented in this poem?

First of all, 'To Celia', could be interpreted as the speaker addressing the poem to his beloved, and this is supported by the use of second-person pronouns, such as 'thine', 'thou', and 'thee' throughout the four stanzas. On the other hand, the phrase...