Keats' presentation of mortali

A detailed Summary of Keats' presentation of mortali

Consider Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, and Bright Star.

Discuss the presentation of the mortal and immortal in these poems.

In all three of these poems the ideals of mortality and immortality are compared and contrasted. As a human being Keats posses all the traits of humanity namely that which we call the human condition. He is subject to change, to time, and is susceptible to those desires and impulses which both support and hinders us. Further more, like everyone else he is ultimately at the mercy of death and it is this concept of man's frail mortality which evokes the vulnerability which he feels. Keats knows that 'Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes' and what makes Keats' pain more poignant is that there are creatures and objects which are not affected by such transience. They are able, simply by being who or what they are, to remain aloof from all human suffering and more significantly, stay permanent despite the effects of time. This is the status Keats wishes to obtain, that he might be capable of becoming a transcendental being like the Nightingale, Urn or the bright Star and thus 'tease (himself) out of thought as doth eternity'.

For Keats mortality is painful since not only do we as human beings

However, although it is ultimately a state of immortality which Keats aspires to, there are aspects of humanity which appeal to him despite his apparent rejection of the human condition. Throughout Ode to a Nightingale the poet envelops us with a variety and intensity of senses he feels as a result of his experience of nature. He refers to the 'white hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine; fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves...the coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine, the murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves'. Keats is therefore, caught between the joys of living and the mortality of man. Whereas he considers it 'rich to die' in order to rid himself of the effects of time, this would prevent him from experiencing the power of emotions he feels in Bright Star. In this case, although the status of the Star is eternal, he also refers to it as 'sleepless Eremite' ; it is lonely since due to its nature, the Star can only watch and not participate in relationships which Keats subsequently describes: 'Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast'. Keats' ideal existence would be 'still steadfast, still unchangeable'; however, such a condition is an impossibility. One cannot be both mortal and immortal at any given time and Keats knows this. Whereas in ...Nightingale and ...Grecian Urn a compromise is unable to be reached, Keats is prepared in Bright Star... to relinquish the possibility of the transcendental for love at this moment in time. Despite his desires to become immortal, the loss of humanity's finest attributes is too great a price, and since this poem was written after the other two, one could argue that this is perhaps a culmination of Keats' desires.

In this respect, both the Grecian Urn and the Star are similar. Together they are symbols of permanence which like the Nightingale are not subject to change. The stories which are depicted on the u

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Approximate Word count = 1263
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English