Wednesday, October 23, 2019
John Keats – Ode to a Nightingale Criticism
Keats is in love with a nightingale. He is at a loss of how to feel; happy for witnessing the birdââ¬â¢s ââ¬Ëhigh requiemââ¬â¢, or sad for not being part of its world. In the first stanza the poet is having clear symptoms of an extreme sadness. His ââ¬Ëheart achesââ¬â¢ and a drowsy numbness painsââ¬â¢ his sense. This heavy mood is paradoxically denounced in the same stanza. Itââ¬â¢s ââ¬Ëbeing too happyââ¬â¢ in the nightingaleââ¬â¢s happiness thatââ¬â¢s causing the malaise. The stanza comes to an end in a joyful mood as opposed the heavy start of the poem. He imagines the birdââ¬â¢s home as ââ¬Ësome melodious plot of beechen greenââ¬â¢.Through this synaesthesia he creates a vivid picture of one of his classic bowers. The second stanza opens with a plea ââ¬Ëfor a drought of vintageââ¬â¢ through which he can fulfill his plea to ââ¬Ëfade awayââ¬â¢. This stanza evokes a lot of appeal to the sense of taste, ââ¬Ëtasting of flora and c ounty greenââ¬â¢. The theme of nature together with a joyful atmosphere is also evident. ââ¬ËDance, and provencal song, and sunburnt mirthââ¬â¢. From the comfort of the dreamy second stanza, the third plunges the reader into the sad reality and banality of life. ââ¬ËThe weariness, the fever, and the fretââ¬â¢ are a reality that the nightingale doesnââ¬â¢t know.Here ââ¬Ëyouth grows paleââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëbeauty cannot keep her lustrous eyesââ¬â¢. This sombre stanza induces a feeling of a disappointing reality. Itââ¬â¢s much better to belong to a dream than to this painful truth. This stanza is also a typical example of Keatsââ¬â¢s obsession with illness and death. He decides to ââ¬Ëflyââ¬â¢ to the nightingaleââ¬â¢s realm. However he wonââ¬â¢t do this through substance he pondered about in the first two stanzas, but through ââ¬Ëthe viewless wings of poesyââ¬â¢. This is a eulogy to poetry and its ability to take the reader to the spiritu al realm of imagination.He joins the nightingale where the trees let no light in except for when the wind moves their branches. The last three lines stress darkness and the gloomy colours of mundane existence. In the fifth stanza he cannot see what ââ¬Ësoft incense hangs upon the boughsââ¬â¢. This synaesthesia leads the reader to touch the scent. He is enveloped in ââ¬Ëembalmed darknessââ¬â¢ ââ¬â where balm is a sweet smelling fragrance ââ¬â but he can still imagine all that there in its midst. Through the heavenly eyes of imagination he can see the ââ¬Ëwhite hawthorn and the pastoral eglantineââ¬â¢.He can see ââ¬Ëfast fading violetsââ¬â¢ and the musk-rose that is full of ââ¬Ëdewy wineââ¬â¢ to make sure we know that this world being describe is the nightingaleââ¬â¢s not the poetââ¬â¢s. He can also hear the ââ¬Ëmurmurous haunt of flies on summer evesââ¬â¢. After experiencing the extreme joy of the nightingaleââ¬â¢s song he is findi ng it hard to go back to the harsh reality. He is playing with the tempting idea of an ââ¬Ëeaseful Deathââ¬â¢. It would be a happy death, ââ¬Ënow more than ever it seems rich to dieââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëin such ecstasyââ¬â¢. But then his thought evolves further and understands that the nightingale would go on singing, and being death he would miss his ââ¬Ëhigh requiemââ¬â¢.The switching from reality to fantasy keeps going on. The poet is back in the nightingaleââ¬â¢s realm. It seems that the switch occurred also in his mood. From the rather dark mood of the sixth stanza, the seventh stanza introduces us to a rather jubilant Keats. Heââ¬â¢s full of praise for the ââ¬Ëimmortal birdââ¬â¢ whose voice transcends from ââ¬Ëancient daysââ¬â¢. ââ¬ËIt was heard by emperor and clownââ¬â¢, which perhaps implies that its song is for everyone. It was heard by Ruth, a biblical figure who has a ââ¬Ësad heartââ¬â¢ to alleviate her pains. Itââ¬â¢s song â â¬Ëcharmââ¬â¢d magic ceasmentsââ¬â¢ of faery which are ââ¬Ëforlornââ¬â¢ and the seas which are ââ¬Ëperilousââ¬â¢.These words hint at the pain described in the first stanza, a pain the poet is trying to escape. This idea of pain introduces us to the next stanza. The same word ââ¬Ëforlornââ¬â¢ wakes him up; reminds him of reality. ââ¬ËFancyââ¬â¢ or imagination is seen as a cheater. He awakes from this delusion understanding where he really belongs. This brings him to question if it all was a ââ¬Ëvision, or a waking dream? ââ¬â¢ This is a reference to the transient and brief nature of imagination, perhaps the poem itself. It was all a momentary euphoria, ââ¬Ëfled is that music: ââ¬â do I wake or sleepââ¬â¢, it seems that the vision was too good to be true.
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