Out of all his poetry, the odes appear to be the most sensually explored poems that Keats wrote. Through this collection of poetry he deeply explores the world of feelings and the enjoyment of them as well as the idea of a transient existence. Do the poems, however, show a separation between thoughts and feelings, and what evidence is there that Keats is trying to obtain his wish for a 'life of sensations rather than thoughts'?

One of the most striking things about the odes with respect to sensations is the language used. In all of his poems, but especially in the odes, Keats uses highly mimetic language to build upon whatever sensual idea he is trying to portray. In Ode to Psyche there is a seemingly endless use of alliteration. The sibilance of how 'the secrets should be sung' and the 'soft-handed slumber' and the alliteration of 't' in 'these, though temple thou' among with many more examples create an almost dreamlike and transient atmosphere within which to set the poem. This use of alliteration is also found in To Autumn where Keats uses the alliteration of 'm' and 's' to open the poem with 'Seasons

In Ode to Indolence, this idea of merely wanting to enjoy sensations rather than thinking and debating them is also foremost. Keats is eager to become passive, not wanting to analyse everything he experiences and this is highlighted through the metaphor of the 'lawn besprinkled o'er / With flowers, and stirring shades, and baffled beams'. Here, like Keats, the lawn is passive yet open to sensual experiences. Throughout this poem there is a preoccupation with the 'immediate' nature of experience. Keats writes that 'to follow them [he] burn'd / And ached for wings' and later as 'they faded' he 'wanted wings'. However, as this poem progresses it becomes increasingly philosophical as he asks 'What is Love! And where is it?' As Keats moves on to denounce 'poor Ambition' and 'Posey' who 'has not a joy' he is clearing thinking about what they each represent. The entire poem suggests that Keats is very confused over his wish for Indolence and a passive attitude to life. The use of the highly mimetic language found in this poem along with the others seems to contradict his ideas, as the 'three Ghosts' he is trying to get rid off are described in a very sensuous style.

To Autumn is probably one of the most sensuous poems in the odes collection due to the exact detail given to the sensations of autumn, focusing heavily on the natural elements. However, this too has a hidden intellectual aspect to it, that everything is balanced. Autumn itself is a transitional period between summer and winter, thus balancing life and death. Throughout the poem everything mentioned seems to be balanced out. The images of 'the maturing sun' and the 'ripeness' of fruit suggest a feeling of stasis, but this is contradicted and balanced out by the use of verbs that suggest activity with the sun 'conspiring' with autumn to 'set budding more, / And still more, later flowers for the bees, / Until they think the warm days will never cease'. While activity is used to describe stillness, in the second stanza, stillness it used to describe activity with the image of a busy harvest being portrayed by autumn 'sitting careless on the granary floor'. This continued balance seems to also suggest an ambivalent attitude to death and decay. By highlighting the 'ripeness' of the fruit, Keats is also highlighting the fact, that by being ripe, it now has the ability to decay and die. In this poem, it is almost as if Keats has found a balance between thoughts and sensations. At the same time he is both detached and involved. He describes things as they are and although he does not directly but his views down, they are portrayed by the balance. At a glance, this poem seems to be purely sensual and it is only with a closer look that the underlying balance shows the depth of thought that has gone into it.

of mists and mellow fruitfulness'. In Ode to a Nightingale the same technique is used to rather different effects. Here the alliterative 'd', 'p' and 'm' found throughout the first opening lines create a sluggish weightiness corresponding to Keats's 'dull' ache. Although the atmosphere being created here is much different to the one used in Ode to Psyche it is the sensations and feelings that are being highlighted through the use of alliteration.

As well as the detailed use of alliteration and ternary structure to create a desired effect, Keats also uses a number of other literal techniques that give his poetry a much more sensual feel with which to match the topics he addresses. One of the most obvious techniques, as already seen Ode to Indolence is that of personification. Not only are the titles of his odes personified, Psyche, Melancholy, Indolence and Autumn, with a Nightingale and a Grecian Urn already physical enough to address, but also many of the other abstract nouns that appear in the poems. In Ode to Nightingale, 'Death' is personified as Keats cal

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Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)