Song: to Celia (“Drink to me only with thine eyes”) Essay Questions

“Song: to Celia” is often described as a “carpe diem” poem. What does this mean, and how does the theme appear in the poem?

A carpe diem poem is a love poem which emphasizes the beloved’s mortality in order to convince them to return the speaker’s affections. The poem's use of the theme is less obvious than in other poems, but we can see death’s implicit presence in the speaker’s allusion to the immortality granted only by the “divine drink.” His fear that the wreath will wither, and his sending it “late,” also forebodingly imply the inevitability of death.

Identify one moment of ambiguity in the poem. Does it undermine the poem as a whole?

The final stanza of “Song: to Celia” can either be read as an over the top compliment or a threat. The positive reading is more obvious—Celia’s breath has been enough to keep the wreath alive, and she has also transformed it in her image. This casts her as a quasi-divine figure. However, Jonson has also emphasized the difference between what Celia can offer him and what God can offer him, and we can also read the stanza as emphasizing that, having rejected Jonson’s affections, Celia will grow withered like the wreath. Both meanings thus reinforce the pome’s overall goals: to both deliver an elaborate compliment, and meditate on the inevitability of death, even for lovers.