All organic electronic spectra in solution are subject to a generalized polarization red shift which is due to solvent polarization by the transition dipole and which depends on the solvent refractive index. This can be obscured by the effect of dipole-dipole and dipole-polarization forces if the solute is polar, when the application of the Franck-Condon principle shows that the solvent cage around the excited solute molecule is momentarily strained. Orientation strain ana packing strain are defined, of which the former is more important. The absorption frequencies of polar solutes are shifted to the red in solution if the dipole moment increases during the transition; they may be shifted to the blue (relative to the gas) if the dipole moment decreases. Four cases are discussed according to whether solute and solvent are polar or non-polar. The place of ir* *n transitions is discussed.