Commentary on John Keats’s Poems Essay Example

a first reading judgment by the presence of “Once Again” in the rubric. Keats was a great supporter of Shakespeare. The subject of decease which is one of Keats’s chief concerns is latent in the verse form.

This sonnet’s idea can be divided into four parts. First, knightly love affairs are praised and put aside. Second, the effects they provoke are contrasted with those engendered by the reading of King Lear. Third, the talker begs Shakespeare and heaven his beginnings of inspiration to assist him. Finally, he compares himself to the Phoenix which has the power to be immortal.

To get down with, the first quatrain opens with the ejaculation “O” which is by definition used to show strong feelings. Indeed, the verse form is charged with lyricality, the two exclaiming Markss lending to it among other things. In this manner, we are witting from the beginning that the talker ‘s rereading of Shakespeare’s calamity makes him deeply react.

Then the term “Romance” refers to medieval love affair a signifier of narrative which developed in the twelfth century and related narratives of gallantry and courtly love. Its heroes were idealized and the secret plan frequently contained marvelous or supernatural elements such as firedrakes or monsters contending for the interest of the heroine. The adjectival which qualifies this genre of literature that is “Golden-tongued” means that it is wondrous narrated. Besides, it can be paralleled with “the kingdom of gold” Keats refers to in the same first line of the sonnet “Upon First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” the phrase being there a metaphor for books he extremely values.

Next the luting is a stringed instrument whose music acts as an

captivation on readers and leads them to sweet ideas.

This first line is fundamentally an apostrophe since the talker straight addresses “Golden-tongued Romance” therefore bodying it.

The “Fair plumed Syren” is praised every bit good. the poet sing her a royal individual -a “Queen”-who “melodiz [Es ] ” ( l. 3 ). She is besides present in the love affair in inquiry. A Siren in Grecian mythology is one of the three sea nymphs normally represented with the caput of a adult female and the organic structure of a bird. They inhabited an island surrounded by unsafe stones and American ginseng so bewitchingly that all who heard were drawn near or shipwrecked. The melody produced by the luting can be compared to the capturing one American ginseng by the Siren which overwhelmingly attracts the poet to wish this sort of literature.

But the lexical field of pleasance including “serene Lute”. “Fair plumed Syren” and “melodizing” among other things is contrasted with more negative phrases such as “wintry day” . “Shut up” and “mute” . This indicates that the poet is willing to roll from the sweet ideas these readings generate the “Golden-tongued Romance” being a synecdote for knightly love affairs in general.

Furthermore, the personification procedure is extended on line 4 since “Golden-tongued Romance” is addressed as though it was endowed with life and address. Indeed, “thine  Pages” are the book’s. Furthermore, the Siren is used as a metonymy for the narrative insofar as the poet combines the two on line 4, the predicates “Shut up” and “be mute” mentioning to the nymph.

Finally, the adjectival “olden” alludes to this literature’s antediluvian being.

In short, this first quatrain trades with the

poet’s wishing for mediaeval love affairs take a firm standing on their bewitching power. However, the latter wants to disregard them from his head. And prosopopeia is aimed at demoing that he is profoundly affected by his rereading of King Lear. The 2nd stanza is traveling to contrast images of beauty with what Shakespeare’s calamity shows.

Next, the 2nd quatrain begins with the poet command farewell to pleasant speculations.

But we should foremost and first set this sonnet back in its context. We can easy assume that it is autobiographical, therefore that Keats reveals us his ain concerns. In 1818, he is cognizant that he has short clip left to populate due to the fatal unwellness he is enduring from, that is TB. Furthermore, we have already realized that he is scared of decease, peculiarly in his “When I have frights that I may discontinue to be” .

In the 2nd stanza, the lexical field of snake pit is present through “fierce”, “damnation” and “burn through” . And the predicate “burn through” must be taken both literally and figuratively. On the one manus, it hints at Keats’s future decease. On the other, it indicates his agitation confronting counter waies as he is lacerate between beastly visions and sweeter speculations, designated by “damnation” versus “impassion’d clay” . So, “damnation” is a metaphor for the ideas the reading of King Lear provokes while “impassion’d clay” refers to those generated by knightly love affairs.

The word “clay” likely makes mention to the Bible as the sacred book provinces that God made the human organic structure with this stuff. So, it symbolizes fruitfulness and regeneration in other words life. Therefore, it is alluring

to deduce that love affairs allow the poet to get away from world whereas King Lear’s tragic destiny reminds him of his bad status.

The 2nd portion of the quatrain trades with the poet’s will to concentrate on “Shaksperean fruit” in other words on King Lear itself. While the first stanza introduced his liking for love affairs, this one bit by bit leads us to the topic of the verse form – i. e. the feelings and ideas the reading of the calamity trigger. King Lear is rather a sad narrative as it deals among other things with effects of the fatal error the eponymic character makes at retirement as he divides his land between two of his girls Goneril and Regan believing that the youngest Cordelia is the 1 who loves him the least. Once he realizes that his sure misss intend to drive him off, he leaves them.

Cordelia, disowned, became Queen of France. She is informed of the state of affairs and lands on her father’s old land with an ground forces to contend the other girls’ . The drama ends in a catastrophe since Goneril, ashamed because unmasked by her hubby, who had non known how wicked his married woman was. self-destructions herself after holding poisoned her sister Regan out of a spirit of green-eyed monster. And Cordelia defeated by her sisters is hung in prison. Lear dies last, his beloved girl in his weaponries.

The adjectival “bitter-sweet” ( l. 8 ) intimations at both the pleasance the talker takes rereading the narrative and aforementioned sad ideas. The decease of the characters really reminds him he is to decease shortly.

To sum up, literature acts

as a accelerator on Keats since it makes him chew over. And between the images of beauty love affairs trigger and the unhappy ideas King Lear provokes, he eventually chooses to concentrate on Shakespeare. The grounds of this pick are traveling to be given in the 3rd stanza.

The 3rd quatrain begins in the same manner as the 2nd with an exclaiming. “Chief Poet! ” is a characteristic attributed to Shakespeare. In fact, the talker aims at stressing his esteem for the dramatist.

Then, Albion is the name given by seniors to Great Britain because of its white drops -in Latin albus means white. This is besides where King Lear takes topographic point.

And a subject in a work of literature is an thought that the author develops or repetitions. If we take into history this definition.

“Chief Poet! and ye clouds of Albion.

Fathers of our deep ageless subject! ” may intend that Shakespeare and Great Britain are the poet’s unlimited inspiration.

Next,  the talker identifies with Lear on line 11. When the latter realizes that what Goneril and Regan truly want is to trail him off he leaves. It is a wild and stormy dark and he wanders about the Fieldss half mad with wretchedness. So, lines 11 and 12 allude to that really episode in the calamity. This is an case of intertextuality.

In add-on, we can comprehend the presence of Eden in this stanza. First, the phrase “clouds of Albion” reminds us of that scriptural topographic point which is normally imagined as being high up in the sky. And liquors walking on clouds are frequently pictured. Furthermore, the fact that Great Britain is named Albion because of its

white drops conveys the thought of a span between Earth and Eden or life and decease.

Next, the “old oak forest” is extremely symbolical. In many traditions, the oak is a sacred tree which is vested with privileges of heaven’s supreme deity. It is besides considered as an intermediary between Earth where it puts its roots and the vault of the sky that it touches with its top. That is likely due to its olympian visual aspect and because it attracts lightning. So, the “oak forest” can be regarded as a sacred and privy topographic point in other words as a sort of sanctuary in which the poet roams waiting for his at hand decease.

Personification is besides used as the topic of the predicate “Let me non roll in a waste dream” is non merely “Chief Poet” but besides “clouds of Albion”. Keats’s fright to decease is perceived in that line and imploring the asleep dramatist to salvage him is a manner of foregrounding his sacredness. Let us remind of Keats’s esteem for Shakespeare.

Therefore, the Elizabethan author and heaven’s importance are dealt with. They are the beginning of the speaker’s inspiration and his Jesus. The concluding pair is about the poet’s longing to be reincarnated.

Last, the fable of the Phoenix is introduced. In ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, it is a bird. When it felt its decease approaching -every 500 or 1461 years- it would construct a nest of aromatic wood, put it on fire and was consumed by the fires. When it was burned, a new Phoenix sprang Forth from the pyre.

In these two lines, the poet compares himself to the fabulous bird induing himself

with the same powers as its ain that is those of Resurrection and immortality. Indeed, he is tormented by his impending decease and yearns to be immortal what he achieves in a manner since 175 old ages after his decease he is still much read valued and studied in universities.

To reason, it is brooding self-contemplation in the signifier of lyric poesy on a immature man’s impending decease. We are made cognizant of Keats’s airy experience rereading King Lear. His wishing for love affairs is highlighted however he chooses to concentrate on Shakespeare’s chef-d'oeuvre as it makes him believe about his concerns. Indeed, literature acts as a accelerator for speculation. Finally, we focus on the poet’s fright of decease and longing for immortality.