Ode to the nightingale analysis line by line. How We Became Human: Analysis & Summary 2022-10-21

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In "Ode to a Nightingale," John Keats uses vivid imagery and figurative language to convey the speaker's deep feelings of sadness and longing for escape from the pains of the mortal world. Through the speaker's interaction with the nightingale and its song, Keats explores themes of mortality, the power of imagination, and the fleeting nature of beauty.

In the first stanza, the speaker describes the nightingale as a "full-throated" and "joyous" creature, singing its song "Of joy and youth, and love's delight." The speaker longs to escape into the nightingale's world of song and beauty, which represents a kind of transcendence from the harsh realities of life.

In the second stanza, the speaker compares the nightingale's song to a "cool and liquid" potion that has the power to "quicken" the senses and bring "forgetfulness" of the "human lot." The speaker's use of the word "lot" suggests a sense of resignation and acceptance of the suffering and hardships that are an inherent part of the human experience.

The third stanza marks a shift in the speaker's attitude, as he begins to feel a sense of despair and longing for the eternal escape offered by death. He compares the nightingale's song to a "death-given sleep," which suggests a peaceful and restful release from the pains of life. The speaker also compares the nightingale's song to a "death-pall'd" and "desolate shore," further emphasizing the association between the song and the finality of death.

In the fourth stanza, the speaker imagines himself "fainting" and "dying" as he listens to the nightingale's song, indicating a desire to fully escape into the beauty and transcendence of the song. The speaker also describes the song as a "drowsy numbness" that "pains" his sense, suggesting a sense of both pleasure and pain in the experience.

The final stanza returns to the theme of the fleeting nature of beauty, as the speaker laments the fact that the nightingale's song will eventually come to an end. The speaker's use of the word "fade" suggests that the beauty and joy offered by the song are only temporary, and will eventually disappear like "the farewell of the fading year."

Overall, "Ode to a Nightingale" is a poignant and deeply moving meditation on the human experience and the longing for escape from the pains and sorrows of the mortal world. Through the speaker's interaction with the nightingale and its song, Keats explores themes of mortality, the power of imagination, and the fleeting nature of beauty, ultimately leaving the reader with a sense of both sorrow and hope.

Critical Analysis of Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

This provokes a deep and meandering meditation by the speaker on time, death, beauty, nature, and human suffering. Dryad, according to Greek Mythology, was tree-nymph lesser goddesses living in trees. And, as stated in the words "where men sit and hear each other's groans. The second is the date of publication online or last modification online. Since this is a poem inspired by a Greek form, it is fitting that there are several other allusions to the mythology and culture of Ancient Greece in this poem. The bird receives human traits in the poem and represents nature and death. One thought leads to another, and the poem comes to a somewhat arbitrary conclusion as a result.

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How We Became Human: Analysis & Summary

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

New York: Longman, 2007. Keats, the junior romantic poet depicts a miserable and dismal human existence on earth. Though he cannot see, from the scent emanating from the flowers he can guess what flowers are at his feet or what blossoms are above his head. At last the poet returns to reality. New York: Norton, 2009.

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Ode to Nightingale by John Keats

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

It signifies that he is completely immersed in the nightingale's song and that he is content with the nightingale since he has forgotten all of his personal sorrows and pain. All those things which we value most—youth, beauty, and love are subject to disease and decay. Resting on the wings of happiness, he wants to die now without the feeling of any pain. Here the poet imagines that he is with the nightingale in the tree. Stanza III Pain and misery of life are depicted.

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Ode to a Nightingale Questions and Answers

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

The sound of this shocking word is like the sound of a bell. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Background to the Ode: This poem was written in the 19 th century when John Keats lived with his friend Brown in the same house. The poet is not describing what he actually sees around him. Why does the poet desire to fade away, to dissolve, to forget? The poet begins by describing his current listless mental state, contrasting it with the beautiful and carefree song of the nightingale. The speaker needs a getaway, and he uses his mind to do it.

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Ode to a Nightingale (By John Keats)

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

A stretch of the imagination heightens the contrast between the immortal nightingale and the mortal man sitting in his garden. Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, And purple-stainèd mouth; That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim: 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 grey 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. We then leave the world of mythology and religion for the world of full-blown fairyland, as Keats imagines the song of the nightingale accompanying the opening of magic windows that open out onto the sea. Previously the poet had expressed his wish to fly away with the nightingale but now he makes it clear that it would without the influence of alcohol-he would take recourse to poetry. Cite this page as follows: "Ode to a Nightingale - Bibliography" Critical Survey of Literature for Students Ed. Ruth's sad heart was calmed by the song of the nightingale, just as it had been in the past, when she was mourning the death of her husband.


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line by line explanation of ode to a nightingale

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

In fact, Keats deliberately involves all the five senses to allow the reader an opportunity of visiting the sacred and alluring world of the nightingale. Elf refers to a magical, airy creature. The Challenge of Keats: Bicentenary Essays, 1795-1995. His fantastical imagination allows him to experience night from the nightingale's perspective, surrounded by dark and fragrant trees. It would be a luxurious experience for him because the nightingale is singing in ecstasy and he would die listening to it. And this very song also comforted the forlorn princesses imprisoned in magic castles, when those ladies stood in the magic windows which opened on the foamy stormy, ocean in fairylands. The poem depicts on a speaker standing in an imaginary forest, listening to a beautiful song of the nightingale bird.

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A Summary and Analysis of John Keats’s ‘Ode to a Nightingale’

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

Yet it is not quite so simple as all that. It was also published in a volume along with Lamia in 1820. He describes the red wine in loving detail, then goes on to specify the mortal woes from which he would like to escape—primarily those associated with old age, sickness, and death. However, he seems to be successful; by looking at the latter part of the stanza we can see his ideas are brimming with poetic essence. The magical effect of the song has been highlighted. Thoughts of death intrude.

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“Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats: An Analysis

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

As he says, I don't want to ride in Bacchus' chariot with the god of wine. The speaker's response shifts through different moods, and ultimately the urn provokes questions more than it provides answers. Cite this page as follows: "Ode to a Nightingale" Critical Survey of Contemporary Fiction Ed. So on the wings of this song, he wants to retire from this world. Piercing realization of reality Imagination can provide him momentary satisfaction only, and as soon as he grasps this truth, he cannot help but resign himself to the multiple sorrows of life. As the spell of imagination breaks, the poet feels that the bird has flown away and he bids good-bye to the nightingale. He tells the nightingale that it is singing of the pleasure of summer.

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Ode to a Nightingale Analysis

ode to the nightingale analysis line by line

He had not been feeling well in the fall and winter of 1818-19, and he may have had tuberculosis at the time. The eighth line is written in iambic with too many prefixes. There is something transporting about both getting drunk and hearing the beautiful song of the nightingale. Keats prefers to vanish himself from this world with the Nightingale bird. The last date is today's date — the date you are citing the material.

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