The Wreath (Symbol)
Jonson gives Celia a wreath of roses. However, he stresses that he did not give it to her as a gift, but rather in the hope that she could prevent it from withering. Instead, she returns the wreath to him, and when it comes back “it grows, and smells” not like flowers, but rather like Celia. The wreath thus symbolizes Celia herself, rather than Jonson’s feelings. The symbol cuts both ways. Comparing a woman to a flower was a conventional compliment in Renaissance love poetry. However, the wreath’s potential to wither also symbolizes Celia’s own mortality.
Indirect Touch (Motif)
Throughout “Song: to Celia,” Jonson avoids alluding to direct physical touch in favor of more indirect affection. He introduces the motif in the very first line, where he writes about his desire for Celia to meet his gaze and indicate with her eyes that she drinks in a toast to him. In the next couplet, he expresses his desire for her to leave a kiss in the cup. He then wants to take a sip from that same cup, the wine thus transferring the kiss to his own lips. Even the wreath he gives in the second half of the poem is indirect: he has it delivered, and she delivers it back, her breath still lingering on the flowers.
