Essay Questions

What does the author mean in line two when he says, "And fly with me to Love's Elysium"?

The poem is written in the first person by a man who builds castles in the air with a woman he is in love with. He is swaying her to experience that lovely union between them without spiritual, communal and cultural boundaries. Throughout the poem, the author uses erotic descriptions to attract the woman he is in love with. He is imagining the intense pleasure he will get once he manages to get hold of the woman he is fantasizing about.

How does Thomas Carew confront the notion of virginity as feminine honor?

According to Carew, the perception of female's sexual wholesomeness is instantaneous with admiration. Throughout the poem, Carew argues that the verdict by men to attach virginity to reputation is to instill fear in women not to lose it to anyone except to the right man. He makes a comparison of losing the credit of virginity to the fear of the antique engendered statutes. His message to women is that they have the freedom of guarding their virginity or lose it to whomever they love. The fear instilled in them by men is just meant to imprison them.

What enhances the speaker’s determination to be with Celia?

The primary motivation for the speaker to pursue Celia is the feminine characters from the Greek Myths. Greek Mythology furthers the theme of womanly virginity and respect. He believes that Celia is a virgin and a woman of respect who is only ready to lose her virginity to the first man who will marry her. She is fearful that the speaker might be chasing her to get sexual satisfaction instead of marrying her to make her happy. Therefore, the speaker is motivated to be with Celia because she is a woman of integrity and respect.