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Imagery in john keats poems
Romantic elements in john keats's poetry
Romantic elements in john keats's poetry
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In his sonnet "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles for the First Time," John Keats presents a series of various forms of conflict and tension. Most prominent is the poet's sense of his own fleeting existence juxtaposed with the eternity of the Greek marble sculptures and, perhaps, with the timelessness of art in general. However, there is another, more subtle tension between what is in existence, and what is not, an absence which paradoxically manifests as a form of existence in itself. The presence of this conflict within the sonnet shows Keats's self-coined Negative Capability, the ability to be in "uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason" (Keats 863). Furthermore, the Negative Capability exemplified here is produced by the speaker's empathetic experience with the ruins of the Greek sculptures, which he appreciates in their entirety, not only for the fragments which have physically remained intact, but also for the lost portions and details, which are an essential element of their ruinous state. The concept of “mortality” (l. 1) is immediately foregrounded in the sonnet, with a significant enjambment on the word itself. So, from the outset, the speaker draws attention to his mortal state, which implies both life, an existence, and an eventual absence of that life. By then concretizing the abstract “mortality,” combining it with the word “[w]eighs” (2), the speaker produces a reification of mortality as an object weighing down on him; thus, a concept implying an absence, mortality, becomes an entity which affects him. The existence of an eventual absence of life, death, produces his turmoil. Another central image, that of a “sick eagle looking at the sky” (5), foregrounds the tension... ... middle of paper ... ... 91. Keats, John. "A Poet Has No Identity." Letter to Richard Woodhouse. 27 Oct. 1818. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century. 5th ed. New York: WW Norton, 1986. 868. Keats, John. "Negative Capability." Letter to George and Thomas Keats. 21 Dec. 1817. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century. 5th ed. New York: WW Norton, 1986. 862. Keats, John. "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Ed. Abrams H. M. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century. New York: W. W. Norton, 1986. Print. Keats, John. "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles." Ed. Abrams H. M. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century. New York: W. W. Norton, 1986. Print.
In the first instance, death is portrayed as a “bear” (2) that reaches out seasonally. This is then followed by a man whom “ comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse / / to buy me…” This ever-changing persona that encapsulates death brings forth a curiosity about death and its presence in the living world. In the second stanza, “measles-pox” (6) is an illness used to portray death’s existence in a distinctive embodiment. This uncertainty creates the illusion of warmth and welcomenesss and is further demonstrated through the reproduction of death as an eminent figure. Further inspection allows the reader to understand death as a swift encounter. The quick imagery brought forth by words such as “snaps” and “shut” provoke a sense of startle in which the audience may dispel any idea of expectedness in death’s coming. This essential idea of apparent arrival transitions to a slower, foreseeable fate where one can imagine the enduring pain experienced “an iceberg between shoulder blades” (line 8). This shift characterizes the constant adaptation in appearance that death acquires. Moreover, the idea of warmth radiating from death’s presence reemerges with the introduction to a “cottage of darkness” (line 10), which to some may bring about a feeling of pleasantry and comfort. It is important to note that line 10 was the sole occurrence of a rhetorical question that the speaker
John Keats’s illness caused him to write about his unfulfillment as a writer. In an analysis of Keats’s works, Cody Brotter states that Keats’s poems are “conscious of itself as the poem[s] of a poet.” The poems are written in the context of Keats tragically short and painful life. In his ...
..., the content and form has self-deconstructed, resulting in a meaningless reduction/manifestation of repetition. The primary focus of the poem on the death and memory of a man has been sacrificed, leaving only the skeletal membrane of any sort of focus in the poem. The “Dirge” which initially was meant to reflect on the life of the individual has been completely abstracted. The “Dirge” the reader is left with at the end of the poem is one meant for anyone and no one. Just as the internal contradictions in Kenneth Fearing’s poem have eliminated the substantial significance of each isolated concern, the reader is left without not only a resolution, but any particular tangible meaning at all. The form and content of this poem have quite effectively established a powerful modernist statement, ironically contingent on the absence and not the presence of meaning in life.
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Latimore. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1961. Keats, John. “Ode to a Grecian Urn.” 4 Oct. 2003 < htp://www.poets.org/poems/>.
...e speaker admits she is worried and confused when she says, “The sonnet is the story of a woman’s struggle to make choices regarding love.” (14) Her mind is disturbed from the trials of love.
William Penn, an English philosopher and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, once said that, “For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.” He is saying that death is not the end of our lives, but just another stage. In the poem “Holy Sonnet 10” by John Donne, the poet talks to death itself and gives his opinion on his view of death and others’ views: it is something that cannot control anything, can be replaced by other things, and is not the end of a person’s life. Through the use of his figurative language, Petrachan form, and tone and language, Mr. Donne expresses the message that death is not to be feared because one lives in heaven. John uses many examples of figurative language in his sonnet.
Another metaphor in this sonnet is the comparison of death to nightfall, "In me thou seest the twilight of such day" (568). He continues, "Which by and by black night doth take away, death's second self, that seals up all rest" (568). Shakespeare perfectly describes death as the fading of a bright day to a dark black night.
The sonnet opens with a seemingly joyous and innocent tribute to the young friend who is vital to the poet's emotional well being. However, the poet quickly establishes the negative aspect of his dependence on his beloved, and the complimentary metaphor that the friend is food for his soul decays into ugly imagery of the poet alternating between starving and gorging himself on that food. The poet is disgusted and frightened by his dependence on the young friend. He is consumed by guilt over his passion. Words with implicit sexual meanings permeate the sonnet -- "enjoyer", "treasure", "pursuing", "possessing", "had" -- as do allusions to five of the seven "deadly" sins -- avarice (4), gluttony (9, 14), pride (5), lust (12), and envy (6).
Although I understand Shakespeare’s sonnet, and it does relate to me, I interpret his view of death in a different manner. In truth, death is inevitable, but I don’t wish to be consumed by the idea of it. Only through ever changing time can we create a deeper understanding of the world in which we live, and develop strength and compassion within ourselves and one another.
Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is often referred to as his best work. Not only that but some even call it one of the greatest Romantic poems ever. The poem shows art as a representation of reality and outpouring of the soul. The last two lines however have been subject to much debate and criticism. Some say that they are a blemish on an otherwise magnificent piece and others argue over how to make sense of them. Whatever the case “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a fantastic poem and has shown to have significant staying power in modern literature.
Sonnet 71 is one of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare, and although it may rank fairly low on the popularity scale, it clearly demonstrates a pessimistic and morbid tone. With the use of metaphors, personification, and imagery this sonnet focuses on the poet’s feelings about his death and how the young should mourn him after he has died. Throughout the sonnet, there appears to be a continual movement of mourning, and with a profound beauty that can only come from Shakespeare. Shakespeare appeals to our emotional sense of “feeling” with imagery words like vile, dead, be forgot, and decay, and we gain a better understanding of the message and feelings dictated by the speaker.
“Sonnet 73,” published by William Shakespeare in 1609, reveals through symbolic imagery and metaphors mans promised fate, death. The theme of “Sonnet 73” is that, as life draws to an end, it becomes more valued. In a melancholy mood, the narrator concedes that many years have passed by and that the end of his life draws ever near. He reflects through imagery, and with a sense of self-pity, the loss of his youth and passion to the ravages of time. In this essay I will detail the use of symbolic imagery and metaphors in “Sonnet 73” and how it portrays the author’s experience of aging.
In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.
Although both “Kubla Khan,” by Samuel Coleridge and “Ode on Grecian Urn,” by John Keats are poems originating from the poets’ inspiration from historical figure, the two poems convey different messages through their respective metaphors. While Coleridge emphasizes on the process of creating a Romantic poem, Keats expresses his opinion about art by carefully examining the details of the Grecian urn.
John Keats ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is one of the most enduring, timeless, romantic poems of 1819. It defines ‘romanticism’ not just in the literary sense, but in a modern sense filled with passion, imagination and individuality. I will examine how the idea of romanticism is portrayed through the beauty of art and nature, in contrast with the writer’s perspective on romanticism as a melancholic emotion. Furthermore, as Keats wrote the poem during his last few years on this Earth-whilst he was ill- it is said that he felt “like a living ghost”, so it is not surprising that the poem speaker is obsessed with the ideas of immortality, survival and death which I will be further examining in relation to the poem.