Themes Of Ode To A Nightingale And John Keats

Romanticism, is a term used for a revolutionary artistic/intellectual movement originating in Europe, spanning primarily from the 18th to end of the 19th century. However, contrary to popular belief, the term romanticism, is not always only about love and affairs. Two of the most predominant themes in the Romantic period were the themes of art and nature. With regards to these themes, questions such as what nature and art are, how they can be interpreted, and what may the pieces of art symbolize were also frequently pondered upon. During the Romantic Movement, poets such as John Keats attempted to interpret the theme of nature and show how art can actually captivate time. By analyzing the poems, “Ode to a Nightingale,” and “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by Keats, we will be able to better understand how this poet discusses nature and search for a deeper understanding of how art can retain permanence as opposed to real world transience.

In the poem “Ode to a Nightingale,” by Keats, Keats primarily speaks upon the ideas of life and death. Not only does Keats speak about these ideas, but he arrives at the realization that everything must have an end, including his own life. He wants to escape the agonies of life, such as gray hairs, pain, and also eventually death. However, Keats understands that he cannot do this and first thinks that alcohol is an escape, but then gets rid of the idea because it is only a momentary fixation for the problem. Interestingly, in his sake, Keats turns to the song of the nightingale, which he believes is a type of permanent solution to his problem. The nightingale’s song then symbolizes imagination and a type of ecstasy which Keats is experiencing. In fact, this undying voice and ecstasy is the direct opposit...

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...ivity rather than “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” where the tone is more joyous. Even though the overall tone is very melancholic in the poem, “Ode to Nightingale,” on the other hand, in “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” Keats embraces the beauty of the Urn, and uses repetition of the word “Happy” (line 21) to demonstrate his excitement.

Overall, both poems, “Ode to Nightingale,” and “Ode on a Grecian Urn” represent Keats attempts to ease his pain in life and escape the “natural” world. Even though Keats does find permanence and perfectionism in idealistic drawings of artwork such as illustrated on a Grecian urn, or the nightingale’s mellifluous melody, Keats conclusively prefers the transience of human life because of the warmth that reality possesses. Furthermore, as Keats once stated, “’Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all/ ye known on earth, and all ye need to know.’”