# II explained — The Book of Jade

> Chapter companion for The Book of Jade by David Park Barnitz.

## What happens

The speaker describes a state of ecstatic exhaustion and mortal surrender, lying slain at the throne of joy, and calls upon Death to bring new joy after the lips have grown cold.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-i-ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters