II explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Death and Decay

  The speaker describes dying, being slain, and calls upon Death directly.

• Eroticism and the Femme Fatale

  The perilous bosom, unassuaged lips, and ecstatic union with a beloved figure evoke erotic intensity.

Characters to notice

• Unknown

  The speaker who declares his life gone into eclipse and his death from ecstasy.

• Death

  Invoked as the bringer of new joy after the speaker's lips have grown cold.

Key passages

• “Lo, now my life is gone unto eclipse Upon thy perilous bosom; lo, I die, Faint with the utter whole of exstasy, With unassuaged lips against thy lips, That can give no more joy;”

  Behold, my life has faded into darkness on your dangerous chest; I am dying, weak from complete ecstasy, with unsatisfied lips pressed against yours that can offer no further pleasure.

  The speaker describes a fatal, ecstatic embrace that leaves him depleted.

• “Kiss me to death! Lo, now our lips are cold, Wilt thou not bring new joy, O Death, O Death?”

  Kiss me until I die! See, our lips have grown cold; will you not provide fresh delight, O Death, O Death?

  The speaker implores Death to grant a new kind of joy after the passionate kiss has ended.