# XI: Bid Adieu, Adieu, Adieu explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by James Joyce.

## What happens

The chapter is a lyrical address urging a young woman to bid farewell to her girlish days and maidenhood, as 'Happy Love' comes to woo her. It describes the physical symbols of her youth—the zone and snood—and instructs her to gently remove them upon hearing Love's call, signaling a transition from innocence to romantic union.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Longing

The poem centers on Love's courtship and the beloved's anticipated surrender, emphasizing romantic yearning and the transition to intimacy.

### Transience and Loss

The bidding of adieu to girlish days and maidenhood highlights the fleeting nature of youth and innocence.

## Character check-ins

### Beloved

The addressee, a young woman being urged to abandon her girlish ways and maidenhood for Love.

### Love

Personified as 'Happy Love' who comes to woo the beloved, representing the force of romantic desire.

## Key lines

> Bid adieu, adieu, adieu, Bid adieu to girlish days, Happy Love is come to woo Thee and woo thy girlish ways

Say goodbye to your youthful innocence, for Love has arrived to court you and charm your maidenly habits.

_The opening lines establish the central theme of transition from girlhood to romantic love._

> Begin thou softly to unzone Thy girlish bosom unto him And softly to undo the snood That is the sign of maidenhood.

Gently remove the belt that binds your youthful chest and loosen the hair ribbon that marks your virginity, offering yourself to him.

_The final lines use physical symbols (zone and snood) to represent the beloved's surrender of maidenhood to Love._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters/xi-bid-adieu-adieu-adieu
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters