LitCrit

Name    : Siti Yeniatun

Class      : B

NIM       : A.320090053

A THING OF BEAUTY (ENDYMION)

John Keats

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

Its lovliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to

bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils

With the green world they live in; and clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make

'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never

John Keats was undoubtedly an extremely gifted and well loved poet. In such a short space of time he was able to leave a poetic legacy which has touched the hearts and minds of millions. He possessed an unwavering desire to write poetry, which considering his working class status, was something thought impossible in the 19th century. He would overcome these barriers however and succeed to make a name for himself due to the sheer imaginative beauty of his verse.

Let's look at three of his most famous works:

To Autumn* General overview: This is a poem in three stanzas of eight lines celebrating the beauty of autumn. It also celebrates the idealised world of man and nature working in harmony together.

* Analysis: In the first four lines of the poem we really get a feel of the world that Keats depicts:

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

The idea of man and nature working in harmony together can be found in the fourth line, the vines that represent nature are bending around the habitations of man in pastoral harmony. Nature also works with the elements in harmony as the very seasons conspire with the sun to "load and bless" the fruit that nature provides.

Primarily, the first stanza focus's on setting the scene of autumn itself, described as a place that is "over-brimmed" with summer, and filling fruit with "ripeness to the core;" it is harvest and the fruits of nature are bursting with flavour and perfection.

The word choice in typical Keats fashion is soft and long lasting and full of with life, "mellow," "fruitfulness," "bless," "vines," all of these words in sound alone fill the mind with feeling of calm and tranquillity. The beautiful sounding of words continues throughout the rest of the poem, and overwhelms the reader with calm and peaceful relaxation as summer floats in the readers' consciousness.

The second stanza in the poem focuses more on man as the harvester of nature. Though here the farmer boy depicted is happy to enjoy the last days of autumn and can be found "sitting careless on a granary floor" or "drowsed with the fume of poppies." Here the idea of being drugged by nature displays an obvious possibility especially when he is described with a "laden head cider-press." Here the boy in the poem is consumed by the power and beauty of nature and is content to simply idle by.

In the last section of the poem a touch of sadness and negativity creeps into the verse, and thoughts of winter start to impose upon the beautiful scene. The gnats who are grateful for the heat "mourn," at the prospect of cold weather, the now full-grown lambs "loud bleat" as if complaining in irritation, and the hedge-crickets sing with "treble soft," it is almost as if nature is protesting against itself. In the closing lines of the poem a robin song is heard and the gathering swallows "twitter in the skies" again as if in protest, as they are forced to find a warmer climate and flee from Britain and with it the beauty of the poem.

The inevitability of nature is a constant that we may complain about but cannot halt its progress. Nor can we do anything about the inevitability of the passing of time and the prospect of death, though such thoughts would be a harsh conclusion to draw from such a beautiful depiction of nature as presented in this poem.

Ode to a Nightingale* General overview: This is more complex poem than "To Autumn," consisting of eight stanzas and is a little more irregular in structure. It is mostly about a melancholic figure that seems to find a little solace when hearing a Nightingale sing.

* Analysis: Throughout the poem there is an overwhelming allusion to a drugged state, the opening two lines show this perfectly "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains/My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk." Other references to hallucinogenic substances include: "opiate" "draught of vintage" "Bacchus" the Greek God of wine, and the want to "drink, and leave the world unseen."

However, despite such overwhelming references to such releases it seems that the character in the poem wishes to reject false opiates in return for the "viewless wings of Poesy," and with it the possibility of readers to do the same. Though it is clear that the character is deeply melancholic as he says "I have been half in love with easeful Death" clearly showing the state of mind of the character.

It is with the possibility of the connection to nature that the character finds some little relief, gripping on to a fragility of beauty. The singing nightingale stirs thoughts of ages gone by where "emperor and clown" had perhaps "found a path in life" upon which to continue. The obvious division of status of the emperor and clown draws a levelling of status to the power and drawing of a depressed state.

At the end of the poem it seems the character although touched by the beauty of the "high requiem" of the bird remains in a state of confusion "Do I wake or sleep?" is the final lines of the poem, though it seems that with the departing of the nightingale he is jolted abruptly back from his musings.

Ode on a Grecian Urn* General overview: Ode on a Grecian Urn could be seen as an ode to beauty itself, as the figure in the poem admires and wonders on a pastoral scene upon a Grecian Urn.

* Analysis: The narrator in the poem is transfixed with the pastoral scene represented on the urn and gazes in wonder "What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What wild ecstasy?" He seems fascinated with the frozen scene and with it their captured joy that "cannot fade" as opposed to the harsh reality of life.

The prospect of the unseen and unheard further fascinates the character in the poem "heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter still." It is as if he wishes to be part of the Grecian world but can only gaze on as an outsider in wonder and longing, to the untouched and unheard beauty of the scene before him.

There is however an undertone of negativity that creeps into the poem as in the line "who are those coming to the sacrifice?" which obviously darkens the world as once seen as perfect. It also however adds to the Grecian world an air of mystery and rebellious paganism so at home within the individuality of the Romantic Movement.

Though overall the poem is deeply concerned with the admiration of beauty especially through music, when once again Keats joins man and nature in harmony. As the scene from the urn "doth tease us" so does Keats with the lines that close the poem "Beauty is truth, truth beauty that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know," as once again Keats shows his full commitment of the power of beauty.

Just having quickly looked at these three famous poems by Keats we can see how he in typical Romantic fashion brings together man with nature and the power of imagination over conformity. With Keats as opposed to Wordsworth there always seems to be a tone of melancholy present just underneath the surface of the poem. This can be slight like the prospect of losing beauty, as in the poem "To Autumn" or something much more like in "Ode to a Nightingale" where the narrator is in despair with life and himself.