“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Summary

“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Themes

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  The Power of Love

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")”

• Lines 1-4

  Drink to me only with thine eyes,
           And I will pledge with mine;
  Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
           And I’ll not look for wine.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  The thirst that from the soul doth rise
           Doth ask a drink divine;
  But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,
           I would not change for thine.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
           Not so much honouring thee
  As giving it a hope, that there
           It could not withered be.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  But thou thereon didst only breathe,
           And sent’st it back to me;
  Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
           Not of itself, but thee.

  

  

  

  

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“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Symbols

• 

  The Rosy Wreath

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“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Pun

  

  

  

  

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“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Drink to me
• Thine, Thee, Thou
• Pledge
• Leave a kiss but in the cup
• Doth
• Jove
• Nectar
• Sup
• I would not change for thine
• Thou thereon didst only breathe
• Sent'st

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Speaker

“Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")”

More “Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Short Biography — Learn more about Ben Jonson's life and work at the Poetry Foundation.

  • Jonson's Legacy — Learn more about Jonson's enduring literary reputation.

  • The Poem Set to Music — Listen to Johnny Cash performing this song (and reminiscing about how important it was to him).

  • The Poem in Pop Culture — Watch a performance of the song from the 2020 movie version of Jane Austen's Emma.

  • Jonson's Works — Find links to more information about Jonson's career and writing at the British Library.

  • Another Performance — Listen to Paul Robeson singing another musical version of the song.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Ben Jonson

  • On My First Daughter

  • On My First Son