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

Essay Questions

1. *How does Jonson use the extended conceit of drinking and intoxication to convey the nature of the speaker's love in Song: To Celia?*

Examine how the poem's central metaphor evolves across both stanzas, and assess its effectiveness in communicating the speaker's emotional state alongside his wit. [AQA AO1/AO2 | AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis | IB guiding concept: Language & Meaning]

1. *To what extent is the speaker in Song: To Celia sincere, rather than merely performative, in his expressions of devotion?*

Analyze how Jonson balances playfulness and genuine feeling throughout the poem, paying close attention to tone shifts and the self-deprecating moment in the second stanza. [AQA AO1/AO2 | AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis]

1. How does Jonson use classical allusion — particularly the reference to Jove and nectar — to elevate the beloved above the divine, and what does this reveal about Renaissance attitudes toward love poetry?

In your response, consider how the poem's grounding in Philostratus and the Cavalier tradition of wit and elegance influences Jonson's rhetorical strategy. [AQA AO1/AO3 | IB guiding concept: Context & Intertextuality]

1. *Explore the ways in which the symbols of the wreath and breath work together in the second stanza of Song: To Celia to suggest that the beloved's influence is effortless and transformative.*

Reflect on what the transformation of the wreath indicates about the beloved's power, and how this complements the imagery of eyes and the gaze in the first stanza. [AQA AO1/AO2 | AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis]

1. *To what extent does Song: To Celia present love as a force superior to both earthly pleasure and divine reward?*

Investigate how Jonson structures his argument across the poem, using the evolution from wine to nectar to the beloved's breath to advocate for the supremacy of human love. [AQA AO1/AO2 | IB guiding concept: Transformation]

1. *Compare how Song: To Celia and one other poem you have studied present the tension between the transience of natural beauty and the enduring power of love.*

In your comparison, consider how each poet employs natural imagery — such as the rose wreath in Jonson's poem — to explore the relationship between mortality and romantic devotion. [AQA AO1/AO2/AO3 | IB guiding concept: Time & Mortality | AP Lit Q2 comparative]

1. *How does Jonson's choice of the song form and a light, conversational tone shape the reader's understanding of the poem's deeper themes of love and transcendence in Song: To Celia?*

Examine how the poem's origins as a lyric set to music, its warm and witty voice, and its avoidance of overt sentimentality enhance or complicate its serious thematic concerns. [AQA AO1/AO2 | AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis | IB guiding concept: Form & Voice]