Commentary on John Keats’s Poems Essay

O golden-tongued Romance with serene luteFair hook Syren magnate of far awayLeave melodizing on this wintry day, take out up thine olden pages, and be muteAdieu for once again the fierce dispute,Betwixt damnation and impassiond clayMust I burn through and through once more humbly assayThe bitter-sweet of this Shakespe bean product. brain Poet and ye clouds of Albion,Begetters of our abstruse eternal theme,When through the old oak woods I am g peerless,Let me not wander in a unfinished dream,But when I am consumed in the fire,Give me pertly Phoenix wings to fly at my desire.COMMENTARY The poem down the stairs study was written in 1818 subsequently the completion of John Keatss 4,000- distribution channel poem Endymion. We are facing a traditional and fixed course of study of poem as Sitting Down to Read male monarch Lear erst Again is an Elizabethan sonnet composed of fourteen reports which are split up into three quatrains, that is four-line stanzas, and a final c ouplet -or two lines of verse. The create verbally pattern is abba, cddc, efef, gg as, notably Lute (l.1) rhymes with mute (l.4), far-away (l.2) with day (l.3) and dispute (l.5) with harvest-tide (l.8). Moreover, the lines are iambic pentameters since they contain five iambic feet for instance _ / _ / _ / _ / _ /O Gol/den-tongued /Romance, /with se/rene LuteLike most of Keatss poems, this text deals with the speakers encounter with something which incites him to meditate and alters signifi reartly his vision of life. It is the perusal of King Lear written by William Shakespeare in 1605 which affects him this time and this is not a low gear indication judging by the presence of Once Again in the title. Keats was a great admirer of Shakespeare. The theme of death, which is matchless of Keatss chief(prenominal) concerns, is latent in the poem.This sonnets thought can be divided into four parts. Firstly, chivalric romances are praised and put aside. Secondly, the effects they ra vage are bloodlineed with those engendered by the reading of King Lear. Thirdly, the speaker begs Shakespeare and heaven , his sources of intake, to benefactor him. Finally, he compares himself to the Phoenix, which has the power to be immortal.To begin with, the commencement exercise quatrain opens with the interjection O which is by definition used to express strong feelings. Indeed, the poem is aerated with lyricism, the two exclamation marks contributing to it among opposite things. In this way, we are conscious from the beginning that the speaker s rereading of Shakespeares tragedy makes him profoundly react.Then, the term Romance refers to medieval romance, a form of narrative which veritable in the 12th century and related tales of chivalry and courtly love. Its heroes were see and the plot often contained miraculous or supernatural elements such as dragons or monsters fighting for the sake of the heroine. The adjective which qualifies this genre of lit, that is G olden-tongued, center that it is wondrously narrated. Besides, it can be paralleled with the realms of gold Keats refers to in the comparable first line of the sonnet Upon First Looking into Chapmans Homer, the phrase cosmos there a metaphor for books he highly values.Next, the lute is a stringed instrument, whose music acts as an enchantment on readers and leads them to sweet thoughts.This first line is basically an apostrophe since the speaker directly addresses Golden-tongued Romance thus personifying it.The Fair soak Syren is praised as well, the poet considering her a royal person -a Queen- who melodizes (l.3). She is also acquaint in the romance in question. A siren, in Greek mythology, is champion of the three sea nymphs, usually represented with the head of a woman and the body of a bird. They inhabited an island surrounded by dangerous rocks and render so enchantingly that all who heard were drawn near or shipwrecked. The tune produced by the lute can be compared t o the bewitching one sang by the siren which irresistibly attracts the poet to like this kind of literature.But, the lexical knit of cheer including serene Lute, Fair plumed Syren and melodizing among other things is contrasted with more negative phrases such as wintry day, turn out up and mute. This indicates that the poet is willing to wander from the sweet thoughts these readings generate, the Golden-tongued Romance being a synecdote for chivalric romances in general.Moreover, the personification process is extended on line 4 since Golden-tongued Romance is addressed as though it was empower with life and speech. Indeed, thine () Pages are the books. Moreover, the siren is used as a metonymy for the narrative insofar as the poet combines the two on line 4, the predicates closed(a) up and be mute referring to the nymph.Finally, the adjective olden extend tos to this literatures ancient existence.In short, this first quatrain deals with the poets liking for medieval romances imperativeness on their enchanting power. Nevertheless, the latter wishes to dismiss them from his mind. And prosopopeia is aimed at showing that he is deeply affected by his rereading of King Lear. The second stanza is going to contrast images of beauty with what Shakespeares tragedy displays.Next, the second quatrain begins with the poet bidding farewell to dulcet meditations.But, we should first and foremost put this sonnet back in its context. We can easily presume that it is autobiographic, thus that Keats reveals us his own worries. In 1818, he is sure that he has short time left to live collectable to the fatal illness he is suffering from, that is tuberculosis. Moreover, we have already know that he is scared of death, particularly in his When I have fears that I may cease to be.In the second stanza, the lexical field of hell is present through fierce, damnation and burn through. And the predicate burn through must be taken some(prenominal) literally and figuratively. On the one hand, it hints at Keatss future death. On the other, it indicates his agitation facing antagonistic directions as he is torn betwixt hellish visions and sweeter meditations, designated by damnation versus impassiond clay. So, damnation is a metaphor for the thoughts the reading of King Lear provokes while impassiond clay refers to those generated by chivalric romances.The word clay probably makes reference to the Bible as the sacred book states that God made the human body with this material. So, it symbolizes natality and regeneration in other words life. Thus, it is tempting to infer that romances surrender the poet to escape from reality whereas King Lears tragic fate reminds him of his toughened condition.The second part of the quatrain deals with the poets will to distill on Shaksperean fruit in other words on King Lear itself. While the first stanza introduced his liking for romances, this one gradually leads us to the composition of the poem i.e. the fee lings and thoughts the reading of the tragedy trigger. King Lear is quite a sad story as it deals among other things with consequences of the fatal mistake the eponymous character makes at loneliness as he divides his landed estate amongst two of his daughters Goneril and Regan thinking that the youngest Cordelia is the one who loves him the least. Once he realizes that his trusted girls intend to drive him away, he leaves them.Cordelia, disowned, became Queen of France. She is informed of the situation and lands on her fathers old kingdom with an army to fight the other girls. The play ends in a adventure since Goneril, ashamed because unmasked by her husband, who had not known how wicked his wife was, suicides herself later having poisoned her sister Regan, out of a spirit of jealousy. And Cordelia, defeated by her sisters, is hung in prison. Lear dies last, his dear daughter in his arms.The adjective bitter-sweet (l.8) hints at both the pleasure the speaker takes rereading t he story and aforementioned sad thoughts. The death of the characters actually reminds him he is to die soon.To summarize, literature acts as a catalyst on Keats since it makes him meditate. And between the images of beauty romances trigger and the unhappy thoughts King Lear provokes, he finally chooses to concentrate on Shakespeare. The reasons of this choice are going to be given in the third stanza.The third quatrain begins in the same way as the second, with an exclamation. Chief Poet is a characteristic attributed to Shakespeare. In fact, the speaker aims at emphasizing his perceptiveness for the playwright.Then, Albion is the name given by elders to Great Britain because of its white cliffs -in Latin albus means white. This is also where King Lear takes govern.And a theme, in a work of literature is an idea that the writer develops or repeats. If we take into account this definition,Chief Poet and ye clouds of Albion,Begetters of our deep eternal theme may mean that Sha kespeare and Great Britain are the poets inexhaustible inspiration.Next, the speaker identifies with Lear on line 11. When the latter realizes that what Goneril and Regan really urgency is to chase him away, he leaves. It is a wild and stormy night and he wanders about the fields half mad with misery. So, lines 11 and 12 allude to that very episode in the tragedy. This is an instance of intertextuality.In addition, we can comprehend the presence of heaven in this stanza. First, the phrase clouds of Albion reminds us of that biblical place which is usually imagined as being high up in the sky. And hard drink walking on clouds are often pictured. Moreover, the fact that Great Britain is named Albion because of its white cliffs conveys the idea of a bridge between earth and heaven or life and death.Next, the old oak afforest is highly symbolical. In some(prenominal) traditions, the oak is a sacred tree which is vested with privileges of heavens absolute divinity. It is also cons idered as an intermediary between earth where it puts its roots and the drop of the sky that it touches with its top. That is probably due to its majestic appearance and because it attracts lightning. So, the oak forest can be regarded as a sacred and secluded place, in other words as a kind of sanctuary in which the poet roams waiting for his impending death.Personification is also used as the subject of the predicate Let me not wander in a barren dream is not only Chief Poet but also clouds of Albion. Keatss fear to die is perceived in that line and begging the dead person playwright to save him is a way of highlighting his sacredness. Let us remind of Keatss admiration for Shakespeare.Therefore, the Elizabethan writer and heavens importance are dealt with. They are the source of the speakers inspiration and his saviour. The final couplet is about the poets yearning to be reincarnated.Lastly, the legend of the Phoenix is introduced. In ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, it i s a bird. When it matte its death approaching -every 500 or 1461 years-, it would build a nest of aromatic wood, set it on fire and was consumed by the flames. When it was burned, a bare-ass phoenix sprang forth from the pyre.In these two lines, the poet compares himself to the mythical bird endowing himself with the same powers as its own, that is those of resurrection and immortality. Indeed, he is tormented by his impending death and yearns to be immortal, what he achieves in a way since 175 years after his death, he is still much read, valued and studied in universities.To conclude, it is ruminative introspection in the form of lyric poetry on a young mans impending death. We are made aware of Keatss visionary experience rereading King Lear. His liking for romances is highlighted nevertheless he chooses to concentrate on Shakespeares masterpiece as it makes him think about his worries. Indeed, literature acts as a catalyst for meditation. Finally, we focus on the poets fear of death and yearning for immortality.