Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath,
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:
Thou art not conquer’d; beauty’s ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,
And death’s pale flag is not advanced there.
– William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3. Romeo is talking about how death has not taken away Juliet’s beauty as she lies in the Capulet tomb. This is dramatic irony because the audience knows that she is not dead, but Romeo believes she is. Death is personified as a force that has sucked the life out of Juliet, but could not conquer her beauty. In a metaphor Romeo compares the sweetness of Juliet’s breath to honey.