Romanticism and John Keats’ Newly—typed Short Lyrical Poems

【Abstract】In the Romantic period， John Keats， a young poet creates rich poems both short and long reflecting main features of closeness to nature，which are not only pleasant to the ear and pregnant to the meaning. This paper makes a brief study of John Keats as well as his poems.

【Key words】romanticism； nature； lyrical poem； odal hymn

1. Introduction

The Romantic Period（1798-1832）is a very important age in English literature as well as English history. With the development of the society， ideology， politics and economics， English literature has greatly developed， reflecting the mental attitudes of Romantic time， which is true of the literature of all countries worldwide of all different periods.

2. The English Romanticism

The English Romanticism， greatly influenced by the Industrial Revolution and French Revolution， arose as a main literary trend beginning with the publication of Wordsworths “ Lyrical Ballads” （1798）， ending with Walter Scotts death （1832）， and “The great literary impulse of the age is the impulse of Individualism in a wonderful variety of forms”（吳偉仁，1996）emphasizing individual values and aspirations. Whenever one speaks of Romanticism， he would probably relate beauty or truth to human being and nature， including common peoples senses， emotions， inspirations， imaginations and fascinations with different times， different people and different places， searching for beauty in art and nature in， as “Beauty is truth， truth is beauty” by Keats， in poetical works.

3. John Keats and his Poems of Nature

John Keats（1792-1821）is one of the talented English romantic poets， who has been regarded as a master of poetry of nature. He is greatly influenced by William Wordsworth， the pioneer of Romanticism and his language is natural， plain and elegant. Particularly， he is so skillful in poetic creation that he always produces his images fresh， vivid and appealing.（董洪川、吳松江，1994：123）

In John Keats life he has composed many poems including short poems and long poems. John Keats composed six odes （Ode on a Grecian Urn， Ode on Indolence， Ode on Melancholy， Ode to a Nightingale， Ode to Psyche and To Autumn）， and they are of some of his most well-known and well-regarded poems. From the nature-related or human-related themes of his all poems， readers may be influenced by his lines or words in his poems. Keats's use of the odal hymn in his six odes， along with his use of the odal hymn with a responsal voice in “Ode to a Grecian Urn” and “Ode to a Nightingale”， created， according to Walter Jackson Bate， “a new tone for the English lyric.” Generally， it is accordantly believed that Keats' odes or poems represent his attempt to create a new type of short lyrical poem， and they have influenced later generations. （From Wikipedia， the free encyclopedia）

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” in “Endymion” and “Beauty is truth， truth is beauty” in “ Ode on a Grecian Urn” reflects his concern at the transitory nature of life， belief in the immortality of beauty and recognition of the importance of the imagination in knowing beauty and hence truth. Through poetry writing or creation Keats is able to reach something of truth and beauty that he believes is permanent and unchanging in a world which is characterized by death and morality.

John Keats favorite type of writing is Ode， a form of lyric poetry which is characterized mainly by two general qualities （subjectivity and the use of “musical” word /sound/rhythm combinations） and some of additional qualities（dignified and majestic tone）. With the musical and dignified lines poetically written， Keats makes his poetry such a fine art， which is pleasant to the ear and pregnant to meaning. In addition to the qualities that is described above， there is another particular distinguishing feature- imagery. Namely， one is clearly aware that in the poem he is sharing the poets thoughts， being exposed to the poets feeling， and being invited to look with his own eyes when reading the poem. Typically， such quality of freshness is embodied in the poem of “To Autumn”.

As to his “To Autumn”， he finds a kind of real truth of nature existing in the autumn in which the beauty of the season will only live a very short life and come to an end before dead-cold winter as the transitory nature of life will soon die. In this case and mood， Keats， who lives only 26 years young， cherishes life extremely as he cherishes the hope of searching for beauty that is able to long live. He cherishes the dream and the illusion that he is in deep love with nature， in which he believes in the immortality of life and beauty. As is known to the world of literature， “To Autumn” has been considered as one of the most highly regarded poems in the English language.

Through poetry John Keats is able to reach something of truth and beauty that he believes is permanent and unchanging in a world. As “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” in “Endymion” and “Beauty is truth， truth is beauty，” – that is all ye know on earth， and all ye need to know. in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”.

John Keats actively employs almost all the senses-tactile， visual and auditory as well as gustatory， kinetic-to powerful effect so that readers of his poems like “To autumn” would have a comprehensive experience of all sensation imagery. A keen awareness of the autumn of the senses， joined with a capacity to lose himself entirely within the object， like imagery of autumn， which he is describing， makes Keats one of the most passionate of poets.

4. Final remarks

John Keats poetry is characterized by human-based sensual imagery， and it is most notably in the series of his odes. Even today his poems and letters are very popular with readers world wide，which are always being some of the most welcome and most analyzed in English literature.

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作者簡介：陳永亮（1963-），男，貴州沿河人，中山職業技術學院英語教師，外國語言文學副教授，研究方向：語言學、商務英語教學和翻譯學。