Keats is probably my favorite author so far. I enjoyed reading his work, specifically "Ode to a Nightingale." I would like to share in detail what I though Keats was trying to convey in this poem.
First, in "Ode to a Nightingale," Keats explores the relationship that exists between the speaker (also a poet) and the nightingale. I think it is important to recognize that the speaker opens the poem by expressing that his "...heart aches..." (438). Perhaps this poem would not hold the same meaning if the reader was not aware of the emotion that the speaker feels. In the first stanza, the speaker also relates that "...a drowsy numbness pains/My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk" (438). Right away, the reader learns that the speaker feels almost intoxicate, leading one to think that the speaker has a foggy frame of mind. In the first stanza, the speaker also acknowledges the nightingale and believes that he has a strong connection with the bird: "But being too happy in thine happiness,--/That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees" (438). I was led to believe that maybe the speaker feels this connection with the bird because he feels somewhat inebriated. What makes that idea interesting is the way that the speaker seems to long for real intoxication in the second stanza. He makes it very clear that he wants something alcoholic to drink: "O, for a draught of vintage...That I might drink, and leave the world unseen..." (438). Oftentimes people consider alcohol as escape from reality of sorts, and it seems that the speaker becomes very human in this longing. The speaker previously revealed that he is hurting (for reasons unknown) and that is a logical reason for a person to want to drink. What makes his longing interesting is the way he once again connects with the nightingale. He not only wants to drink wine, he wants to join the company of the nightingale "...And with thee fade away into the forest dim" (438). Why does the speaker want to drink and fly with the nightingale into the night? At this point, it again seems that the speaker is looking for some form of escape from reality and feels he can achieve this goal through alcohol and in flight with the nightingale.
The speaker continues to convey his desire to escape the world in the third stanza; however, he also claims that this kind of escape is one that the nightingale knows nothing about: "Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget/What thou among the leaves hast never known" (438). The speaker acknowledges that leaving the world with the nightingale will provide an escape, but that he does not expect the bird to understand or sympathize with how he is feeling. He knows that it is impossible for the nightingale to comprehend his overwhelming feeling of sadness because birds are unable to experience human emotion. Not only does the speaker recognize that the bird is unable to feel human hurt, he also tells the nightingale that he cannot understand aging and death: "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" (438-439). While the reader might have previously been unaware of the hurt that the speaker feels, it becomes somewhat clearer at this point in the poem. It seems that the speaker loathes morality and has not come to terms with the fact that all living things in this words are fleeting. It is important once again to recognize that the speaker feels that the nightingale is unable to relate; this also shows that the speaker feels the nightingale is set apart from mankind. As a bird, he is not forced to deal with the knowledge of death that man experiences.
The speaker continues in the fourth stanza by relating that he wants to literally join the nightingale in flight: "Away! Away! for I will fly to thee..." (439). Despite the fact that flying with the nightingale will not erase his human mind, the speaker still longs to join the bird in the sky. At this point, the speaker also reveals that he no longer wants to rely on the inhibitions that come with alcohol; he wants to use poetry to help him escape: "Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,/But on the viewless wings of Poesy" (439). I love the way that the speaker compares poetry with flight by describing writing poetry as having wings. In this way, writing poetry is a form of release for the speaker and perhaps a more logical way to forget his aching heart. To end the forth stanza, the speaker focuses on images of darkness which continue into the fifth stanza: "...there is no light...I cannot see what flowers are at my feet...But, in embalmed darkness, guess..." (439). The speaker is imagining flying with the nightingale, yet on his journey he is unable to see what is around him. With darkness compromising his sight, the speaker is forced to rely on the song of the nightingale (and his poetry) to carry him on his way. I think this aspect of the poem is very interesting. I have long pondered why Keats wrote the poem this way. My best guess as to why the speaker loses his sight is so that he is forced to focus on his poetry and creativity to guide him. The loss of sight, especially after living most of your life being able to see, would be very difficult. For example, my aunt lost the ability to hear when she was 20 years old. She often tells me know how much her other senses have been strengthened. Perhaps the same would be true for the speaker. If her were unable to see, he would have to rely on other senses.
As the speaker continues in the sixth stanza, he speaks once more to the nightingale and tells him about his personal dealings with death. The speaker reveals that death is often appealing to him: "Darkling I listen; and, for many a time/I have been half in love with the easeful Death..." (439). Just like the speaker originally sought alcohol to escape the troubles of the world around him, he is now admitting that at times he looks for a permanent solution to his heart ache. It seems that the speaker would rather die than face the passage of time, aging, and death which he cannot control. He furthers this revelation when he expresses that "...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" (439). The speaker seems to believe that now more than ever would be a great time to die. He is so impressed by the beauty of the song that the nightingale sings that he thinks it would be better to perish now and leave the world behind than to continue living his life. This plea for death becomes even more interesting in the sixth stanza when the speaker compares his unavoidable fate with the immorality of the nightingale: "Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!...The voice I hear this passing night was heard/In ancient days by emperor and clown..." (439-440). The speaker further separates himself from the bird by telling him that his life is immortal. While the speaker spends the entire length of the poem thus far lamenting his inevitable death, he believes that the nightingale was, is, and always will be. One would expect the speaker to express feelings of jealousy and resentment toward the nightingale, but the speaker does neither. He only explains the immorality of the bird in sharp contrast to his own destiny.
In the last stanza of the poem, the speaker seems to return to reality. The speaker was previously preoccupied and lost in the life of the nightingale, but now using the word forlorn is "...like a bell/To toll me back from thee to my sole self!" (440). As the reader, I expected the speaker to at last realize that the idea of flying with the nightingale and forgetting all of his worries is far from reality; to my dismay, the speaker is actually now unsure of what has just happened at all. He wonders "...Was it a vision, or a waking dream?/Fled is that music:--Do I wake or sleep?" (440). The speaker admits at the end of the poem that he is unsure if his experience with the nightingale is even real. He is unaware if it was a vision or a dream, if he was awake or asleep. This aspect of the poem leads me to believe that the speaker's telling of the nightingale was an avenue of release for him personally. In his life he feels constant heart ache and is unhappy with the concept of death. He longs for the immorality of the nightingale's song, but is forced to face the reality of his own existence; he too will someday pass away. It also seems that the speaker in this poem learns that while he cannot fly with a bird in the sky at night, he can use poetry to express his innermost thoughts. He can be as creative as he wants to be with a poetic voice. While writing poetry is not necessarily a real escape from reality, it is a temporary way to release some of his anxiety and fear about death.
After reading this poem, I was left wondering how much Keats and the speaker in this poem have in common. The voice, or speaker, in poetry is often confused with the author, but the author and the speaker are oftentimes very different people. Additionally, I think as with any form of writing, an author is able to voice his own feelings or opinions without being directly accountable. I think Keats was able to demonstrate his love for poetry, and creative writing as it may be, through the voice of the speaker in "Ode to a Nightingale." The speaker in this poem had a heavy heart, but he found an escape from reality in poetry. Keats had a difficult life (losing both of his parents) and I think it probably had a huge effect on his life; perhaps writing poetry helped him escape from his own reality, much like the speaker in the poem.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
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1 comment:
Karen,
Excellent work (as usual) in this post. You really seem to be getting a lot out of the readings, and you do a wonderful job of sharing your insights in these posts. Your careful and close reading of the ode, your effective use and discussion of quotations from the poem, and your thought-provoking connections to your own experiences (and to your aunt) combine to make your posts extremely impressive. Keep it up!
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