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| Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson |
Benjamin Jonson was an English playwright and poet, whose artistry exerted a lasting impact upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularized the comedy of humors.
Jonson's "Song: To Celia" is a short monologue in which a lover addresses his lady in an effort to encourage her to express her love for him. Jonson includes conventional imagery, such as eyes, roses, and wine, but employs them in inventive ways. Aa rs esult, the poem becomes a lively, expressive song extolling the immortality of love. John Addington Symonds, in his 1886 study of Jonson, calls the poem a masterpiece in its "purely lyric composition" and individuality. He concludes that Jonson's lyrics "struck the key-note of the seventeenth century."
Song to Celia by Ben Jonson
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.
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.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not withered be.
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.
Celia's Reply (Response)
If you only see with thine eyes
Create the pledge, be mine
Leaving the kiss within the cup
Go looking for the wine
Find thy thirst with your soul doth rise
Ask the drink of divine
Might I share thy Jove's nectar sup
Not change thy self for time
Remember thine late rosie wreath
Forgive such honoring thee
Giving hope back, that there
Say to not withered be
Thy know, thy hear the only breath
Show and tell back to me
When it grows, when it smells, you swear
Not only me, but thee
