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The Annotated Edition

MYSTERY by D. H. Lawrence

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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A speaker fully surrenders to a divine or cherished figure, using the metaphor of a ritual bowl filled with kisses to illustrate this complete devotion.

Poet
D. H. Lawrence
Themes
beauty, faith, identity
The PoemFull text

MYSTERY

D. H. Lawrence

Now I am all One bowl of kisses, Such as the tall Slim votaresses Of Egypt filled For a God's excesses. I lift to you My bowl of kisses, And through the temple's Blue recesses Cry out to you In wild caresses. And to my lips' Bright crimson rim The passion slips, And down my slim White body drips The shining hymn. And still before The altar I Exult the bowl Brimful, and cry To you to stoop And drink, Most High. Oh drink me up That I may be Within your cup Like a mystery, Like wine that is still In ecstasy. Glimmering still In ecstasy, Commingled wines Of you and me In one fulfil The mystery.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A speaker fully surrenders to a divine or cherished figure, using the metaphor of a ritual bowl filled with kisses to illustrate this complete devotion. The poem intertwines religious worship with erotic longing, portraying the beloved as a deity at an altar. By the end, both figures merge into one, like two wines poured into a single cup.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Now I am all / One bowl of kisses,

    Editor's note

    The speaker begins with a shocking self-perception: they see themselves as merely a vessel for desire. The word *now* marks a moment of total change — their entire identity has merged into one singular offering. The "bowl" introduces the ritual, evoking temple imagery that permeates the entire poem.

  2. I lift to you / My bowl of kisses,

    Editor's note

    The speaker presents this offering much like a priest lifts a chalice at an altar. The focus shifts to *you* — a cherished or divine presence — turning the poem into a direct prayer. The temple's "blue recesses" create a cool, sacred atmosphere that stands in stark contrast to the heat of the desire being described.

  3. And to my lips' / Bright crimson rim

    Editor's note

    Here, the bowl and the speaker's body begin to blend together. The "crimson rim" represents both the edge of a vessel and the speaker's lips. Passion "slips" and "drips" down the body like liquid, and Lawrence describes it as a "shining hymn" — transforming physical sensation into a form of worship.

  4. And still before / The altar I

    Editor's note

    The speaker stands at the altar, filled with yearning and calling out for the divine figure to come down and accept the offering. Referring to the beloved as "Most High" establishes a sincere religious tone—this is truly a prayer, not merely a decorative metaphor.

  5. Oh drink me up / That I may be

    Editor's note

    The speaker longs to be completely consumed, to dissolve within the beloved like wine filling a cup. The phrase "like a mystery" holds a spiritual meaning — it's a sacred ritual, something that defies rational understanding. The speaker desires not a union of equals but a complete absorption into the beloved.

  6. Glimmering still / In ecstasy,

    Editor's note

    The final stanza brings an end to the tension. The two separate wines — the speaker and the beloved — are now "commingled," blended into one. The mystery hinted at in the title is resolved: two distinct beings have merged into a single entity. The closing lines offer a calm moment, like a gentle breath after the urgency of what came before.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is passionate and reverent, at the intersection of erotic desire and spiritual ecstasy. Lawrence maintains the intensity — the language is rich, yet the short, clipped lines lend it a ceremonial quality, reminiscent of a chant. The speaker's voice carries no shame or doubt, just a bright eagerness to be embraced.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The bowl
The central image of the poem symbolizes the speaker's entire being presented as a vessel of desire and devotion. It also reflects the chalice used in religious communion, linking physical intimacy to sacred ritual.
Wine / kisses
The two are seen as essentially the same. Wine has significant Eucharistic importance—the notion that something as simple as a drink or a kiss can transform into a means for a transcendent, even divine, experience.
The altar / temple
Lawrence situates the erotic encounter within a sacred space, drawing inspiration from ancient Egyptian temple worship. This isn’t ironic; he truly views physical union as a religious act, a theme that appears consistently throughout his work.
The votaresses of Egypt
Female temple servants performed ritual offerings to the gods. By invoking them, Lawrence connects the speaker's desire to an ancient, pre-Christian tradition where the body and the sacred coexisted harmoniously.
Commingled wines
The image of two wines mixing in one cup represents the full merging of two identities. It captures the poem's main desire: not just connection, but the complete erasure of the line between self and other.

§06Historical context

Historical context

D. H. Lawrence wrote this poem in the early 1900s, during a time when he was shaping his argument that modern Western life had dangerously separated the body from the spirit. He turned to pre-Christian cultures—like ancient Egypt, Etruscan civilization, and indigenous Mexico—as proof that this division wasn’t unavoidable. "Mystery" reflects that fascination by featuring an erotic scene set in an Egyptian temple. Lawrence challenged Victorian norms, asserting that physical desire shouldn’t be hidden or apologized for. The poem was included in his early collections, predating the controversies surrounding *The Rainbow* (1915) and *Lady Chatterley's Lover* (1928), yet his fundamental belief is already clear: that sex, worship, and self-transcendence are interconnected rather than separate.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

On the surface, it depicts a speaker presenting themselves to a beloved through the metaphor of a ritual bowl filled with kisses. However, Lawrence is aiming for something deeper: he suggests that erotic love and religious devotion stem from the same impulse. The speaker is not merely *comparing* desire to worship — they are treating them as one and the same.

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