Keat's Odes

All of these poems seem to have something in common with each other: they are all emotional and filled with different sensations. Throughout all of these odes beauty seems to be a recurring theme.  It appears in several forms, such as a beautiful natural world or a beautiful woman. The concept still remains the same, but it is expressed in a very particular way. John Keat embraces the theme of beauty in a mysterious and unreachable manner: he combines it with desperation by undermining himself and our world. Beauty is described as an illusion; something that is crucial in the human world yet so fragile.

 In “Ode to a Nightingale” Keat explores the theme of the sad destiny of all living beings. Another main concern is the juxtaposition of pain and joy. In the first stanza, the poet feels content while listening to a nightingale sing. He seems to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains, my sense as though of hemlock I had drunk” (line 1-2). Hemlock is a poison made from an herb, so he is denoting that he drank something similar to poison. It almost seems as if he should not be allowed to feel this happy “ Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, but being too happy in thy happiness” (line 5). In the second stanza, he wants to escape his mixed feelings of joy and pain by desiring wine. By drinking wine he is seeking the effects that it would have on him; a feeling of pleasure and escaping reality. In the third stanza on the other hand, he suddenly realizes he is prevented from avoiding the reality “ Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget what thou among the leaves hast never known” (line 21-22), and in the fourth stanza he suddenly slips back to his fantasy world “ Away! Away! For I will fly to thee, not charioted by Bacchus and his pards” (line 31-32). In the rest of the poem he is captivated by the nightingale, and finally decides to follow his imagination. The main theme of the poem is the idea of escaping the unhappy reality of human life by being transported in another dimension with the help of a nightingale. The nightingale seems rather real at first, but we soon comprehend that he is used as a symbol to avoid reality. He is in complete in admiration with the nightingale, but he realizes what the bird represents is merely an illusion.

In “Ode of melancholy” pain and beauty are eminently linked to each other. The three stanzas address the theme of sadness and how to overcome it, or at least attempt to.  He is aware that the woman’s beauty will fade “She dwells with Beauty—Beauty that must die” ( line 21). The idea behind it is that knowing that beauty will fade away at some point makes the venture afflicting. That is why he must remain patient when “Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows” and attempt that by “ Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave, and feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes” (line 18-20). He must value each day and not take moments for granted, and realize that this beauty will deteriorate.  Keats realizes that in order to experience joy we must experience sadness and melancholy.  This ode differs from “ Ode to a Nightingale” because Keats does not want to escape reality: he appears to be determined to accept the sad reality that beauty cannot last forever. He is not merely contemplating the natural world, or imagining things.

 Keat’s transportation of beauty is also found in “Ode to autumn”  in which he is fascinated by the season. He mentions countless flowers “ and still more late flowers for the bees” (line 9).  The same concept of time is reflected in this poem: the idea that the enjoyment will soon disappear due to the arrival of winter is reflected in the last stanza.  Although, in this poem Keats seems to really enjoy what autumn brings, and seems determined to enjoy every second of it; he is aware that it will not last forever, but he does not let this feeling disappoint him. In the third stanza, we found Keats accepting the idea of autumn dying, but he is aware it will come back at some point.  

The rime of the Ancient Mariner

“ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is a poem written in seven parts by Samuel Coleridge. It narrates the story of an ancient mariner who stops a wedding guest on his way to the reception. Although the wedding guest is eager to leave, the marine insists, and begins narrating a youthful story.  In this long and rough poem, Coleridge main theme is the frightening and fascinating natural world.  The ancient mariner talks about the sea, as if it had an indubitable power over all the mariners. Considering how the mariner describes the sea, it almost seems as if it is a character itself. When the ancient mariner murders the Albatross, nature decides to take revenge and teach him a lesson. The wind that permits the boat to move suddenly disappear, the heat from the sun increases tremendously, and no water is available on the boat “Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”

The Albatross appearance is crucial to the poem. The sailors found themselves in a cold and unbearable place, “And now there came both mist and snow, and it grew wondrous cold” then unexpectedly, an Albatross emerges from the ice. The sailors interpret it as a sign of good luck, as if God was on their side “Thorough the fog it came; as if it had been a Christian soul, we hail’d it in God’s name”.  The Albatross is then killed by the ancient mariner; for no particular reason. One possible reason why the mariner would murder the Albatross is the idea that human beings are sinners. Considering the concept that the Albatross is contemplated as a divine being, individuals respect it but are not necessarily loyal to it. A valid example could be Judas Iscariot, who betrays Jesus and helps the authorities of Jerusalem arrests him. An animal that is respected, fed and admired is suddenly killed in a cruel and cold blooded way. There is no clear motivation behind the murder of the Albatross. The vicious act is meant to come off as an unjustified and uncalled action that has repercussions. It is doubtful that Coleridge had a specific motive of why the mariner kills the Albatross. 

The spirits come into play after the ancient mariner murders the Albatross. The first spirit is an indirect repercussion of the murder, and it is uncertain if it appears in the old sailor’s imagination or if it is real.  After suffering from thirst several days, the ancient mariner ends up being the only sailor alive on the boat.  The sailors got their soul taken away from them, and the ancient mariner is condemned of a life of living death.  The mariner is suffering, and cannot bear the sun and the thirst; he then decides to pray, and as a result he is able to sleep. After waking up from the sound of the rain, the boat finally moves. When the ship reaches the equator, it stops and starts moving back and forth. He then hears the first voice that accuses him of killing the Albatross. “The spirit who bideth by himself, in the land of mist and snow, he loved the bird that loved the man, who shot him with his bow” The spirit also proclaims that it loved the Albatross. The second voice seems to talk with the first one regarding the Albatross. It states that the ancient mariner will harshly pay for his crime: “The other was a softer voice, as soft as honey-dew: Quoth he, `The man hath penance done, And penance more will do.' The spirits represent the final judgment.  The mariner committed a sin and he is obliged to pay for it. He did not realize the gravity of the situation until the repercussions came into play. They serve to remind him that what he did was wrong. The killing of the Albatross has several consequences that the ancient mariner did not predict. The ancient mariner initially thought he was forgiven for his murder, but the reader realizes he is not.  His entire crew died of thirst he suffered from isolation and he is now condemned to live in a stage of life and death. The mariner’s encounter with the hermit is crucial. The mariner fears that the dead sailors will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life, he then believes that after all he has been through all his sins will finally be forgotten: “It is the Hermit good! He singeth loud his godly hymns that he makes in the wood. He'll shrieve my soul, he'll wash away The Albatross's blood."

 In several of his poems, Samuel Coleridge crosses the line between reality and fiction. In”Rime of the ancient mariner” the reader encounters multiple passages in which it is unclear if the mariner is describing what he really sees or just merely imagining things.  This technique is fascinating because it permits the character to picture things that challenge time and space. Another example would be “The lime tree bower my prison” a poem in which the main character cannot follow his friends in a journey. The character then imagines experiencing the journey. He recreates it completely with his imagination, and is then content as if he had actually experienced it. The moral here, is that nature is everywhere and you are able to experience it as you please.

Kubla Khan

Kubla Khan is a complex poem that was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was under the influence of opium when he wrote it. Coleridge had a dream, woke up, felt inspired and started writing the poem. He then got interrupted by a messenger after the first two stanzas, and wrote the last stanza afterwards.  The poem describes Xanadu, the place of Kubla Khan. The speaker starts by describing the setting of the palace. He mentions a river that run across the land, through underground caves and finally into the sea.  In addition, he describes the surrounding areas of the palace, saying that beautiful forests and fertile land can be found.

The poem was written under the influence of the opium drug and therefore has no one specific theme, or message that the writer wanted to convey. “Kubla Khan” is meant for the reader to feel like he is in an alternate reality. Images and descriptions such as “Through caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea”( line 4 and 5)  are sporadic, and feel like illusions. The reader is transported to an ideal world that seems perfect and fascinating in comparison the England of Coleridge in the 17th century. The author wanted to escape his daily routine of English life and achieved this by means of a lucid unconscious dream. That is why he pictures himself in a picturesque place where he imagines himself being in a position of power.  In the last stanza, “In a vision once I saw” (line 38), the phrase allows the reader to understand that Coleridge is back to reality. In this moment, all collapses and appears to fall apart.  He describes a creature that ruined a perfect scenario “And all should cry, Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair!”.

  Another major theme of this poem is the interaction between man and nature. Throughout the entire poem, nature is a recurring motif and the way men interact with it is an essential keynote.  For instance, “Through caverns measureless to man” is a good example symbolizing how human interplay with the caverns.” (line 4) Throughout the entire poem the comparison between good and evil comes into play. The palace seems to be a sunny, happy and safe place: “a stately pleasure dome decree”(line 2). The speaker seems to be drawn back to the river throughout the poem “ Where Alph the sacred river, ran through caverns measureless to man down to a sunless sea” (line 2). Here the river is introduced, then it re appears stronger than ever “ It flung up momently the sacred river. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion through wood and dale the sacred river ran” (line 26).  The caverns appear to be huge, cold and scary. The speaker talks about them as if the river was fighting them “ Through caverns measureless to man” (line 3). In addition the speaker mentions a charming monster in the last stanza “ His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice” (line 50).  All of these elements seem to contrast each other. They seem to have been put together to make the reader understand that this charming place is not so perfect, and not everything is what it seems.

William Blake Homework

In these selections of poems, Blake gives us two completely different state of mind. He juxtaposes the innocent world of childhood against an adult world full of repression and corruption. In "Song of Innocence" he narrates several stories with different characters, that all seem to be angelic, exemplary, stainless, guilt-free and pure. In addition, he mentions God multiple times,"`Look on the rising sun: there God does live, and gives his light, and gives his heat away". This quote is taken from "The little Black Boy" and here we see that Blake wants to send his readers a specific message. Following God has to be the first concern in every person's life. On the other hand in "Songs of experience" Blake explores the adult world full of dishonesty, cruelty and corruption. Although we are aware of the fact that Blake was intensely religious, in these selection of poems he does not seem to take a side. He identifies himself with neither view. He is an outsider, merely narrating stories and sins of fictional characters. In most of the poems, he personifies himself in different individuals,  "My mother bore me in the southern wild, and I am black, but O! my soul is white;white as an angel is the English child, but I am black, as if bereav'd of light." Even thought this collection of poems explores values and sensations of two different perspectives of the world, most of the poems fall into pairs. That way, the same circumstances are seen through different outlooks. It is almost as if Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are connected; Songs of Innocence amplify the innocent and ingenuous hopes and fears of childhood, and follows the change to adulthood. Some of the poems are written from the perspective of a child while others are written from an adult point of view. Songs of experience is written to describe how bitter and harsh are adult life experiences. Experiences that will make you forget about your innocent childhood. All of the main themes in Songs of Experience challenge the innocence of “Songs of Innocent”. Jealousy, shame, corruption, lies all go against the naïve and guilt free state of mind of childhood. Experience thus adds a layer of innocence that puts a shadow in a hopeful vision.  The language in the Songs of Innocence and Experience is every so often complex. Comprehending the subject matter is at time difficult. In several poems, Blake uses personification; while in others symbolism and abstract images seem to be the choice. I have decided to compare “The Tiger’ taken from “Songs of Experience” and “The Lamb” from “Songs of Innocence”. In the first stanza of “The Tiger” the speaker who is unknown, asks a question: Which God created him? “What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?” It also seems as if the speaker is scandalized that a divine being would even think to create a creature such as a tiger. He then continues, by saying that this divine being had the courage to comply his duty by finishing what he started, “and when thy heart began to beat, what dread hand and what dread feet?.” He then continues, by skeptically asking himself if the divine being that created this monster, also brought into existence the lamb. He then concludes, by asking himself the same question from the first stanza “ Tiger, tiger, burning bright in the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye dare frame thy fearful symmetry?”. The main theme of this poem is the idea that a divine being can create an animal both beautiful and horrible. A God with the capacity of conceive an animal capable of violent acts but beautiful and fascinating.  The message here is that nature itself is a reflection of its creator. Since all beings were created by God, he himself cannot be as celestial as he is depicted to be.  He allowed the existence of evil in this world, so he is responsible for it. When he mentions the lamb, he points out that tigers and lambs have been created by the same God, reminding the reader that they are not so different after all, since they both have been created by the same divine being.

“The Lamb” contrarily seems to be narrated by a child.  He questions the lamb, asking him where he originated from, who gave him “a tender voice, making all the vales rejoice.” In the second stanza, he attempts the answer his questions by saying that the creator of the lamb is “ called by thy name, for he calls himself a lamb.” In the last stanza, the narrator blesses the lamb, “ Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee”.  The poem is descriptive and fascinating, with a question followed by an answer.  The child’s questions seems naïve and vague although genuine and thoughtful. The lamb symbolizes Jesus and the child’s faith. The child admires the lamb, and has faith in him. The child trusts the lamb and places his confidence in him.  This lamb is free of guilt, angelic. The lamb is perfect and seems flawless. The lamb is completely different from the tiger, even thought they were both created by the same divine being. In “Songs of Innocence” Blake conveys an image of a perfect God; a divine being which seems incapable of creating something evil. In “Songs of Experience” he is describing the reality of nature.  The two poems give an adequate view on religion that includes the angelic and perfect part, and the evil and harsh reality of the world we live in. These poems counterpart each other, providing the realistic point of view that Blake had on religion and nature.