Poems of love always seek to exalt the loved one to a
tremendous extent, and this famous love poem by Ben Johnson is no exception. As the
speaker tries to encourage his beloved to give him a sign of affection and love, he asks
her to give him a metaphorical kiss by taking a drink from a cup and thereby "leaving a
kiss" in the cup. If she would do this, the speaker would "not looke for wine" as no
wine could intoxicate him as much as a kiss from his beloved. In fact, such "wine" that
his lady could give him would be so prized and esteemed that he would not even want to
exchange it for Jove's nectar itself:
But might I of Jove's Nectar
sup,
I would not change for
thine.
The speaker is so in
love with Celia that he is willing to sacrifice the drink of the gods for her drink,
which indirectly elevates her to above the status of the gods, as Celia's kiss is more
important to the speaker than the nectar of the gods themselves.
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