I dreamed this mortal part of mine/was metamorphosed to a vine
-- Speaker (Lines 1 – 2)

Importance: These initial lines of the poem clearly lay out its central plot. The speaker explains what is happening: he is asleep, he is dreaming, and he imagines his "mortal part" – his phallus – transformed into a vine (1). These lines set the stage for the plot that is to come.

Enthralled my dainty Lucia
-- Speaker (Line 4)

Importance: This line introduces the character of Lucia. She is being "enthralled," a word which derives its etymology from "thrall," a type of slave, by the tendrils. She is "dainty," and therefore delicate and vulnerable (4). This initial depiction of her seems to communicate her powerlessness and passivity.

So that my Lucia seemed to me / Young Bacchus ravished by his tree.
-- Speaker (Lines 12 – 13)

Importance: The speaker here compares Lucia to the Greek god Bacchus. Herrick appears to be inventing a mythological story, or possibly mistakenly transposing Bacchus into the story of...