Ode to a Nightingale The Poet Text of The Poem Stanzic Analysis Vocabulary and Allusions Summary of The Poem

John Keats John Keats ( ; 31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work only having been in publication for four years before his death. Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his life, his reputation grew after his death, so that by the end of the 19th century he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of later poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats was the most significant literary experience of his life. The poetry of Keats is characterized by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analyzed in English literature

Stanza 1 My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk: 'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thine happiness,— That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, In some melodious plot Of beechen green, and shadows numberless, Singest of summer in full-throated ease. ______________________________________ Line 5 is an apostrophe to the nightingale whose happiness causes him to "singest of summer in full throated ease". The nightingale is referred to as a "light-winged Dryad of the trees". In Greek Mythology, Dryads are the female spirits of nature (nymphs) who preside over forests and groves. The two mythological references establish a surreal mood--that state between reality and dreaming perhaps. This supports the theme that the poet wants to escape reality, and does.

Stanza 2 O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth, Tasting of Flora and the country green, Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth! O for a beaker full of the warm South, Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, And purple-stained mouth; That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim: _________________________________________ The key word in stanza 2, the item to which Keats refers to as "a draught of vintage that hath been / Cooled a long age in the deep-delved earth / tasting of Flora and the country green" is Hippocrene. For those of you who don't know: In Greek Mythology, Hippocrene is the name of a fountain on Mt. Helicon. It was sacred to the Muses and was formed by the hooves of Pegasus. Drinking the fountain's water brings forth poetic inspiration. The poet's desire to drink from the fountain asserts his desire to escape from his problems through poetry: "That I might drink, and leave the world unseen / And with thee fade away into the forest dim" . Thee in this citation refers to the nightingale.

Stanza 3 Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget What thou among the leaves hast never known, The weariness, the fever, and the fret Here, where men sit and hear each other groan; Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs, Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies; Where but to think is to be full of sorrow And leaden-eyed despairs, Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow. _________________________________________ The poet emphasizes his desires in stanza 3, wishing to go with the nightingale who has never experienced the despair and sadness of "The weariness, the fever, and the fret... / Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs, / Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies / Where but to think is to be full of sorrow". It is because the nightingale has never experienced these things that he can sing so beautifully.

Stanza 4 Away! away! for I will fly to thee, Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards, But on the viewless wings of Poesy, Though the dull brain perplexes and retards: Already with thee! tender is the night, And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne, Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays; But here there is no light, Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways _________________________________________ The poet asserts he will escape life "not charioted by Bacchus... / but on the viewless wings of Poesy". Just in case you hadn't figured it out, the depressed speaker wishes to escape through poetry. Bacchus is an allusion to the Roman god of wine and revelry.

Stanza 5 I cannot see what flowers are at my feet, Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs, But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet Wherewith the seasonable month endows The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild; White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine; Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves; And mid-May's eldest child, The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine, The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves. ________________________________________ The poet has left the physical world and has entered a world where he sees not with his natural eyes, but with heavenly eyes.

Stanza 6 Darkling I listen; and, for many a time I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath; Now more than ever seems it rich to die, To cease upon the midnight with no pain, While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad In such an ecstasy! Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain— To thy high requiem become a sod. _________________________________________ The poet begins to snap out of his trance stating his desire to die while listening to the nightingale's song. He speaks to the bird: "Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain-- / To thy high requiem become a sod". The problem with dying is the poet would no longer be able to listen to the nightingale's song although he claims it would be "rich to die, / To cease upon the midnight with no pain, / While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad". The nightingale's song is symbolic of Nature's perfection and reminiscent of poetry

Stanza 7 Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In ancient days by emperor and clown: Perhaps the self-same song that found a path Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, She stood in tears amid the alien corn; The same that oft-times hath Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn. _________________________________________ He contrasts the bird with himself. Whereas he is sickly and dying "Thou [the bird] wast not born for death, immortal bird!" . More specifically the nightingale's song is immortal. It has no beginning, having been heard by ancient emporers and by Biblical figures, and in "faery lands forlorn" .

Stanza 8 Forlorn! the very word is like a bell To toil me back from thee to my sole self! Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf. Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades Past the near meadows, over the still stream, Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep In the next valley-glades: Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep? _________________________________________ The word "forlorn" snaps the poet out of his trance. The nighingale has flown and the poet wonders "Was it a vision, or a waking dream?"

Vocabulary and Allusions Stanza I Line 2, hemlock: a poison made from an herb or a poisonous drink made from that herb. Line 4, Lethe: a river in Hades (the underworld). Souls about to be reincarnated drank from it to forget their past lives. Line 7, Dryad: a wood nymph or nymph of the trees. Dryads or nymphs were female personifications of natural features, like mountains and rivers; they were young, beautiful, long-lived and liked music and dance. A Dryad was connected to a specific tree and died when the tree died.

Stanza II Line 3, Flora: goddess of flowers and fertility. Line 4. Provencal: of Provence, an area in the south of France associated with song, pleasure, and luxury. Line 6, Hippocrene: a spring sacred to the Muses, located on Mt.Helicon. Drinking its waters inspired poets. (The nine muses were associated with different arts, such as epic poetry, sacred song, and dancing.)

Stanza IV Line 2, Bacchus: Roman god of wine. pards: leopards, which drew Bacchus's chariot. Line 3, viewless: invisible. Poesy: poetry in general or, depending n how you read this ode,a specific kind of poetry: visionary poetry poetry or fantasy. Line 6, haply: perhaps, by chance. Line 7, fays: fairies. Line 10, verdurous: green.

Stanza V Line 3, embalmed: (1) fragrant, (2) preserved body. Is Keats using both meanings here to suggest the inextricably mixed nature of life?

Stanza VI Line 1, darkling: in the dark. Line 10, requiem: song or musical service for the repose of the dead.

Stanza VII Line 6, Ruth: Boaz saw Ruth, the Moabite, working in the fields, fell in love with her and married her; David is one of her descendents. A book in the Bible is named after her. She is frequently alluded to by poets for her devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi or as a stranger in a strange land. In a sense she has achieved immortality. Line 7, corn: grain, often wheat, in British usage. Line 9, casements: windows.

Stanza VIII Line 5, plaintive: expressing sadness. anthem: (1)a hymn of joy or praise, patriotism, or devotion; (2) a sacred choral song generally based on words from the Bible. Both meanings carry with them intense feelings and high seriousness. Which meaning do you think Keats intends? Does one fit better with requiem? Can both meanings be meant or suggested?

Ode to a Nightingale Summary The poem begins as the speaker starts to feel disoriented from listening to the song of the nightingale, as if he had just drunken something really, really strong. He feels bittersweet happiness at the thought of the nightingale's carefree life. The speaker wishes he had a special wine distilled directly from the earth. He wants to drink such a wine and fade into the forest with the nightingale. He wants to escape the worries and concerns of life, age, and time. He uses poetry to join the nightingale's nighttime world, deep in the dark forest where hardly any moonlight can reach. He can't see any of the flowers or plants around him, but he can smell them. He thinks it wouldn't be so bad to die at night in the forest, with no one around except the nightingale singing.

= Ode to a Nightingale Summary But the nightingale can't die. The nightingale must be immortal, because so many different kinds of generations of people have heard its song throughout history, everyone from clowns and emperors to Biblical characters to people in fantasy stories. The speaker's vision is interrupted when the nightingale flies away and leaves him alone. He feels abandoned and disappointed that his imagination is not strong enough to create its own reality. He is left confused and bewildered, not knowing the difference between reality and dreams.

The End Presented By :Hajed Mohammad Under Supervision of : Dr. Suleiman Norein Osman