ENG308Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 32: Ekphrasis, Fosterchild, Blossom
Ode$to$a$Nightingale$(Cont.)
•
Series$of$paradoxes$by$which$the$speaker$recognises$that$our$earthly$life$is$
where$youth$grows$thin$and$spectre$dies,$where$to$think$is$to$be$full$of$sorry
○
So$starts$off$with$images$of$anaesthetising$pain
•
We$find$something$consistent$with$the$speaker's$observation$in$Ode$on$
Melancholy
•
Even$as$he$imagines$himself$transcending$the$concrete$world$of$time$and$
space,$indulges$more$and$more$of$an$imagination$of$that$time$and$space
○
He$cannot$see$the$flowers$at$his$feet,$he$cannot$smell$the$world
•
The$poem$will$become$a$part$of$the$earth$(stanza$6)
•
The$bird$is$immortal$in$the$sense$that$the$song$is$unchanged$from$age$to$age$
(stanza$7)
○
It$is$the$same$song$that$historically$was$heard
•
The$bird$stands$for$art$-an$idealisation$of$art,$of$lyric
•
Stanza$6$consistent$with$stanza$3's$assertion$that$our$world$of$time$and$space$
is$where$men$sit$and$hear$each$other$grow$(line$36)
○
Biographical$evocation$of$the$death$of$Keats'$brother,$Tom
•
Being$half$in$love$with$easeful$Death
○
Even$with$this$suicidal$urge,$even$as$he$is$seeking$to$fly$away,$he$is$also$
paradoxically$indulging$in$the$senses
○
Only$one$aspect$of$Keats'$feelings$are$involved
•
In$the$next$idea,$he$revolts$against$the$idea$of$death
○
Connects$with$the$theme$from$Shelley$-that$the$bird$is$immortal$is$an$
evocation$of$the$recognition$that$even$though$art$is$not$ultimately$
redemptive$or$salvific,$it$is$what$provides$us$with$a$basic$human$
affiliation$to$the$everyday$world$of$time$and$space$in$which$what$
connects$us$through$the$ages$with$the$desire$for$an$ideal$world$and$
connects$our$membership$within$a$world$in$which$our$ideals$are$
vanquished,$is$art$itself
§
The$$human$need$to$name$our$longing
§
To$make$in$art$a$forum$in$which$we$can$articulate$our$longing$for$
an$ideal,$even$if$it$must$remain$unactualised
•
It$is$this$immortal$song$of$that$which$is$sustaining,$which$makes$us$members$
of$a$community$who$can$recognise$the$immortal$song
○
Art,$that$redeems$us$in$some$spiritual$way
○Like$Ruth$gleaning$corn$in$an$alien$country
•Image$of$a$church$bell$tolling$for$a$funeral$(stanza$8)
○Sustains$religious$imagery
○Imagining$the$immortal$bird
○The$very$world$forlorn$is$like$a$bell,$it$tolls$him$back,$it$wakes$him$up
•He$is$bidding$adieu$to$the$very$bird$that$he$was$trying$to$accompany$by$any$
means$possible
○The$fancy$cheats$us$of$a$recognition$of$the$tactile$world$in$front$of$us
○And$then$provides$us$with$images$of$a$pastoral$ease
○The$world$returns$again$to$its$pastoral$possibilities
○He$is$willing$to$embrace$a$world$where$to$think$is$to$be$full$of$sorrow
•But$the$nightingale$is$in$the$next$valley
○It$hasn’t$been$dismissed,$he's$bid$it$adieu
Ode$on$a$Grecian$Urn
•Most$famous$example$of$ekphrasis$-poetry$describing$another$visual$art
○Brings$into$being,$an$object
○Logic$goes$from$mere$words$to$a$concrete,$physical$object
○But$it$also$does$not$exist,$it$is$just$words$on$a$page
•Notional$ekphrasis$-the$work$of$art$comes$into$being$only$within$the$poetry
•E.g.$No$disjunction$between$Beethoven's$ideal$and$his$reality
•To$have$an$idealisation$of$any$artistic$representation$is$to$run$the$risk$of$
abstracting$it$out$of$existence$and$being$disappointed$in$reality
○Like$the$virgin$Madonna$figure$in$the$renaissance$sonnet
○The$concrete$reality$and$the$idealisation$often$meet$in$romanticism$in$
very$self-reflexive ways
•Much$debated$poem,$especially$about$the$interpretation$of$the$last$2$lines
•What$you$have$is$an$evocation$of$an$urn$(which$preserves$the$ashes$of$the$
death)
○And$what$Keats$does$is$imagine$a$further$visual$representation$on$top$
of$the$visual$description$of$the$urn$itself
○There$are$pictures$painted$on$the$urn$and$the$speaker$becomes$very$
interested$in$them
○Tries$to$put$together$a$narrative$about$the$before$and$after$of$these$
images$frozen$in$time
•He$has$a$poem,$creating$an$art$object,$on$which$is$established$yet$another$art$
object,$from$which$the$speaker$is$trying$to$establish$a$narrative,$in$other$
words,$a$text
•Addressing$the$urn$and$trying$to$figure$out$what$genre$it$belongs$to
○What$is$its$meaning?
○Then$points$out$that$it$is$painted$with$pastoral$images
•Thou$still$unravish'd$bride$of$quietness$(1)
○The$urn$is$intact
○Sexual$imagery$of$the$urn$-like$a$virginal$bride,$unbroken$art
○Virginal$chastity$to$it,$not$violated,$not$changed$by$speaking
•Thou$foster-child$of$silence$ and$slow$time$(2)
○It's$maker$is$in$the$ancient$world
○Since$the$death$of$its$maker,$it$has$been$sustained,$nourished$by$time$
and$silence
•Sylvan$historian,$who$canst$thus$express$/$A$flowery$tale$more$sweetly$than$
our$rhyme$(3-4)
○It$tells$a$story
○Alluding$to$the$great$debate$of$the$sister$arts,$about$what$can$tell$a$
better$tale,$a$painting$or$a$poem?
○He$sees$a$pastoral$scene,$with$men$and$women$playing$music,$engaging$
in$love$games
○He$would$like$to$make$sense$of$it
○Paradox$that$it$tells$a$better$tale$than$our$rhyme,$but$cannot$
understand$it$and$only$makes$sense$of$through$his$rhyme
•Here$we$have$the$melodies$represented$within$a$stasis$on$the$urn
○There$are$no$actual$melodies,$there$isn't$even$an$urn,$it$is$notional$
ekphrasis
○The$poetic$representation$of$the$urn$represents$musicians$which$are$
beyond$representation$because$they$are$painted
○Heard$melodies$are$sweet,$but$those$unheard$/$Are$sweeter$(11)
•And$then$he$turns$to$another$image,$of$lovers
Fair$youth,$beneath$the$trees,$thou$canst$not$leave$/$Thy$song
○
○Of$course$not,$he's$frozen$in$an$image$on$the$urn
○Bold$lover,$never,$never$canst$thou$kiss
○Evoking$an$image$of$unrequited$love
○An$idealisation$fixed$in$time
○She$cannot$fade,$though$thou$hast$not$thy$bliss
○The$idealisation$can$never$be$consummated
○Consoling$the$youth
How$and$why$does$the$speaker$offer$consolation$to$the$lover?
•The$speaker$feels$sorry$for$the$lovers$stuck$in$time,$never$able$to$achieve$
their$goals
•But$he$consoles$him$with$a$reminder$of$immortality
○Even$though$they$can$never$consummate$their$love,$they$will$love$
forever$and$forever$be$fair
•Because$even$when$the$rest$of$them$grow$old$and$die,$the$lovers$will$remain
○They$can$continue$to$be$an$ideal$ while$everyone$else$fades$with$reality
•Like$the$sonnets$-no$consummation$and$so$no$climax$or$anticlimax$or$
diminution$of$intensity
•Representation$of$the$paradoxes$of$art$itself
○Grounded$in$sexual$imagery
○Representation$of$unconsummated$love$and$of$an$unravished$urn
•To$actualise$the$ideal$is$to$lose$it
○Recognition$at$the$end$that$when$we$are$decayed,$the$art$will$be$
sustained
○But$the$art$itself$is$subject$to$decay
•But$the$very$notion$of$itself$is$undermined$implicitly
○Because$these$are$images,$yes$of$an$intensity$about$to$be$
consummated,$but$also$of$an$inability$to$achieve$any$kind$of$
consummation
○The$trees$will$never$be$there,$the$lovers$will$never$kiss
○The$music$will$never$be$heard$by$the$concrete$ear
○The$intense$image$of$a$fully$blossoming$tree$also$remains$at$a$pitch$of$
stasis
•This$is$a$consolation$that$the$speaker$himself$is$realising
•Trying$to$figure$out$the$before$and$after
•Image$of$a$desolate$town$that$is$unpeopled
○So$none$of$the$people$can$answer$his$questions
○But$of$course$there$is$no$town,$it$is$an$artistic$representation
○This$is$a$description$of$stasis$(fixity)
○The$ideal$can$only$be$represented$in$terms$of$stasis
•He$refers$to$the$urn$as$a$cold$pastoral$-oxymoron
○It$is$an$idealisation$but$it$is$a$cold$pastoral$because$the$urn$is$a$cold$
object$and$because$it$is$lifeless
•These$are$all$synecdoche's$or$art$itself
○How$we$are$drawn$to$art$because$of$its$spiritual$needs$and$wants$and$
the$way$it$is$ultimately$an$anticlimax
○It$is$not$redemptive,$it$does$not$save$us
○But$it$does$provide$us$with$some$sense$of$our$human$capacity
•References$to$pictures$moving$around$the$urn
○Images$are$the$silent$form,$dost$tease$us$out$of$thought
○Defeats$our$attempts$to$reason
○Trying$to$make$sense$of$it
○Raises$us$beyond$intellectual$ speculation$and$moves$us$to$an$intuitive$
level
○We$can't$wrap$our$head$around$the$idea$of$eternity
•Idea$that$it$still$remains$when$old$age$shall$this$generation$waste
○We$will$decay,$but$this$unravished$bride$of$quietness$shall$remain
○The$world$will$continue$to$provide$us$with$woe
○But$art$will$always$be$a$friend$to$man
•"Beauty$is$truth,$truth$beauty,"$that$is$all$/$Ye$know$on$earth,$and$all$ye$need$
to$know.
○Complications$with$these$lines
○They$are$connected$with$the$idea$that$the$excellence$ of$every$art$is$its$
intensity
○Capable$of$making$all$relatables$evaporate
○It$is$not$that$there$are$no$disagreeables$in$the$world,$but$rather$that$
there$is$an$ability$facilitated$by$art$to$look$hard$in$the$face$of$the$basic$
paradoxes,$including$those$of$human$existence
○Melancholy$dwells$with$beauty,$beauty$that$must$die
To$Autumn$(pg.951)
•Also$an$ode
•Celebrates$the$process$of$generation
○That$we$live$in$a$world$beyond$fixity,$beyond$the$stasis$of$immortality
○That$we$find$comfort$even$in$a$world$of$decay
•We$harvest$in$autumn
○To$harvest$is$to$be$denuding$trees$of$their$blossoming
○We$are$experiencing$ the$bounties$of$autumn's$harvest
○We$are$taking$the$apple$of$the$tree
•We$begin$with$a$sense$of$intense$ripeness
•Moving$from$the$vegetable$world,$to$human$activity$(stanza$2)$to$insects$and$
animals$(3)
○From$the$tactile$senses$to$the$visual$to$the$auditory$senses
•What$you$have$finally$is$a$celebration$of$the$transience,$of$the$very$world$of$
decay$which$is$the$same$as$the$world$of$regeneration
○It$is$the$cyclical$nature$of$the$world$which$facilitates$a$world$of$
regeneration$which$depends$on$decay
○It$is$the$full$intensity,$engagement$in$the$breadth$and$depth$of$life$
which$is$celebrated$here
•Comparing$the$consolation$offered$here$to$that$of$the$Odes$to$a$Nightingale$
and$to$the$Grecian$Urn
○The$songs$we$hear$will$never$be$heard$in$a$Grecian$urn
○The$cold$pastoral$is$never$actualised$and$never$in$the$mortal$world$of$
time$and$space
○Here$the$consolation$looks$into$the$heart$of$decay,$which$also$that$of$
the$intensity$of$life
○This$is$not$a$moment$in$which$the$trees$will$never$be$bare
○It$is$a$moment$after$which$the$trees$will$be$bare
Lecture$32
Monday,$February$13,$2017
11:12$AM
Ode$to$a$Nightingale$(Cont.)
•Series$of$paradoxes$by$which$the$speaker$recognises$that$our$earthly$life$is$
where$youth$grows$thin$and$spectre$dies,$where$to$think$is$to$be$full$of$sorry
○So$starts$off$with$images$of$anaesthetising$pain
•We$find$something$consistent$with$the$speaker's$observation$in$Ode$on$
Melancholy
•Even$as$he$imagines$himself$transcending$the$concrete$world$of$time$and$
space,$indulges$more$and$more$of$an$imagination$of$that$time$and$space
○He$cannot$see$the$flowers$at$his$feet,$he$cannot$smell$the$world
•The$poem$will$become$a$part$of$the$earth$(stanza$6)
•The$bird$is$immortal$in$the$sense$that$the$song$is$unchanged$from$age$to$age$
(stanza$7)
○It$is$the$same$song$that$historically$was$heard
•The$bird$stands$for$art$-an$idealisation$of$art,$of$lyric
•Stanza$6$consistent$with$stanza$3's$assertion$that$our$world$of$time$and$space$
is$where$men$sit$and$hear$each$other$grow$(line$36)
○Biographical$evocation$of$the$death$of$Keats'$brother,$Tom
•Being$half$in$love$with$easeful$Death
○Even$with$this$suicidal$urge,$even$as$he$is$seeking$to$fly$away,$he$is$also$
paradoxically$indulging$in$the$senses
○Only$one$aspect$of$Keats'$feelings$are$involved
•In$the$next$idea,$he$revolts$against$the$idea$of$death
○Connects$with$the$theme$from$Shelley$-that$the$bird$is$immortal$is$an$
evocation$of$the$recognition$that$even$though$art$is$not$ultimately$
redemptive$or$salvific,$it$is$what$provides$us$with$a$basic$human$
affiliation$to$the$everyday$world$of$time$and$space$in$which$what$
connects$us$through$the$ages$with$the$desire$for$an$ideal$world$and$
connects$our$membership$within$a$world$in$which$our$ideals$are$
vanquished,$is$art$itself
§The$$human$need$to$name$our$longing
§To$make$in$art$a$forum$in$which$we$can$articulate$our$longing$for$
an$ideal,$even$if$it$must$remain$unactualised
•It$is$this$immortal$song$of$that$which$is$sustaining,$which$makes$us$members$
of$a$community$who$can$recognise$the$immortal$song
○
Art,$that$redeems$us$in$some$spiritual$way
○
Like$Ruth$gleaning$corn$in$an$alien$country
•
Image$of$a$church$bell$tolling$for$a$funeral$(stanza$8)
○
Sustains$religious$imagery
○
Imagining$the$immortal$bird
○
The$very$world$forlorn$is$like$a$bell,$it$tolls$him$back,$it$wakes$him$up
•
He$is$bidding$adieu$to$the$very$bird$that$he$was$trying$to$accompany$by$any$
means$possible
○
The$fancy$cheats$us$of$a$recognition$of$the$tactile$world$in$front$of$us
○
And$then$provides$us$with$images$of$a$pastoral$ease
○
The$world$returns$again$to$its$pastoral$possibilities
○
He$is$willing$to$embrace$a$world$where$to$think$is$to$be$full$of$sorrow
•
But$the$nightingale$is$in$the$next$valley
○
It$hasn’t$been$dismissed,$he's$bid$it$adieu
Ode$on$a$Grecian$Urn
•
Most$famous$example$of$ekphrasis$-poetry$describing$another$visual$art
○
Brings$into$being,$an$object
○
Logic$goes$from$mere$words$to$a$concrete,$physical$object
○
But$it$also$does$not$exist,$it$is$just$words$on$a$page
•
Notional$ekphrasis$-the$work$of$art$comes$into$being$only$within$the$poetry
•
E.g.$No$disjunction$between$Beethoven's$ideal$and$his$reality
•
To$have$an$idealisation$of$any$artistic$representation$is$to$run$the$risk$of$
abstracting$it$out$of$existence$and$being$disappointed$in$reality
○
Like$the$virgin$Madonna$figure$in$the$renaissance$sonnet
○
The$concrete$reality$and$the$idealisation$often$meet$in$romanticism$in$
very$self-reflexive ways
•
Much$debated$poem,$especially$about$the$interpretation$of$the$last$2$lines
•
What$you$have$is$an$evocation$of$an$urn$(which$preserves$the$ashes$of$the$
death)
○
And$what$Keats$does$is$imagine$a$further$visual$representation$on$top$
of$the$visual$description$of$the$urn$itself
○
There$are$pictures$painted$on$the$urn$and$the$speaker$becomes$very$
interested$in$them
○
Tries$to$put$together$a$narrative$about$the$before$and$after$of$these$
images$frozen$in$time
•
He$has$a$poem,$creating$an$art$object,$on$which$is$established$yet$another$art$
object,$from$which$the$speaker$is$trying$to$establish$a$narrative,$in$other$
words,$a$text
•
Addressing$the$urn$and$trying$to$figure$out$what$genre$it$belongs$to
○
What$is$its$meaning?
○Then$points$out$that$it$is$painted$with$pastoral$images
•Thou$still$unravish'd$bride$of$quietness$(1)
○The$urn$is$intact
○Sexual$imagery$of$the$urn$-like$a$virginal$bride,$unbroken$art
○Virginal$chastity$to$it,$not$violated,$not$changed$by$speaking
•Thou$foster-child$of$silence$ and$slow$time$(2)
○It's$maker$is$in$the$ancient$world
○Since$the$death$of$its$maker,$it$has$been$sustained,$nourished$by$time$
and$silence
•Sylvan$historian,$who$canst$thus$express$/$A$flowery$tale$more$sweetly$than$
our$rhyme$(3-4)
○It$tells$a$story
○Alluding$to$the$great$debate$of$the$sister$arts,$about$what$can$tell$a$
better$tale,$a$painting$or$a$poem?
○He$sees$a$pastoral$scene,$with$men$and$women$playing$music,$engaging$
in$love$games
○He$would$like$to$make$sense$of$it
○Paradox$that$it$tells$a$better$tale$than$our$rhyme,$but$cannot$
understand$it$and$only$makes$sense$of$through$his$rhyme
•Here$we$have$the$melodies$represented$within$a$stasis$on$the$urn
○There$are$no$actual$melodies,$there$isn't$even$an$urn,$it$is$notional$
ekphrasis
○The$poetic$representation$of$the$urn$represents$musicians$which$are$
beyond$representation$because$they$are$painted
○Heard$melodies$are$sweet,$but$those$unheard$/$Are$sweeter$(11)
•And$then$he$turns$to$another$image,$of$lovers
Fair$youth,$beneath$the$trees,$thou$canst$not$leave$/$Thy$song
○
○Of$course$not,$he's$frozen$in$an$image$on$the$urn
○Bold$lover,$never,$never$canst$thou$kiss
○Evoking$an$image$of$unrequited$love
○An$idealisation$fixed$in$time
○She$cannot$fade,$though$thou$hast$not$thy$bliss
○The$idealisation$can$never$be$consummated
○Consoling$the$youth
How$and$why$does$the$speaker$offer$consolation$to$the$lover?
•The$speaker$feels$sorry$for$the$lovers$stuck$in$time,$never$able$to$achieve$
their$goals
•But$he$consoles$him$with$a$reminder$of$immortality
○Even$though$they$can$never$consummate$their$love,$they$will$love$
forever$and$forever$be$fair
•Because$even$when$the$rest$of$them$grow$old$and$die,$the$lovers$will$remain
○They$can$continue$to$be$an$ideal$ while$everyone$else$fades$with$reality
•Like$the$sonnets$-no$consummation$and$so$no$climax$or$anticlimax$or$
diminution$of$intensity
•Representation$of$the$paradoxes$of$art$itself
○Grounded$in$sexual$imagery
○Representation$of$unconsummated$love$and$of$an$unravished$urn
•To$actualise$the$ideal$is$to$lose$it
○Recognition$at$the$end$that$when$we$are$decayed,$the$art$will$be$
sustained
○But$the$art$itself$is$subject$to$decay
•But$the$very$notion$of$itself$is$undermined$implicitly
○Because$these$are$images,$yes$of$an$intensity$about$to$be$
consummated,$but$also$of$an$inability$to$achieve$any$kind$of$
consummation
○The$trees$will$never$be$there,$the$lovers$will$never$kiss
○The$music$will$never$be$heard$by$the$concrete$ear
○The$intense$image$of$a$fully$blossoming$tree$also$remains$at$a$pitch$of$
stasis
•This$is$a$consolation$that$the$speaker$himself$is$realising
•Trying$to$figure$out$the$before$and$after
•Image$of$a$desolate$town$that$is$unpeopled
○So$none$of$the$people$can$answer$his$questions
○But$of$course$there$is$no$town,$it$is$an$artistic$representation
○This$is$a$description$of$stasis$(fixity)
○The$ideal$can$only$be$represented$in$terms$of$stasis
•He$refers$to$the$urn$as$a$cold$pastoral$-oxymoron
○It$is$an$idealisation$but$it$is$a$cold$pastoral$because$the$urn$is$a$cold$
object$and$because$it$is$lifeless
•These$are$all$synecdoche's$or$art$itself
○How$we$are$drawn$to$art$because$of$its$spiritual$needs$and$wants$and$
the$way$it$is$ultimately$an$anticlimax
○It$is$not$redemptive,$it$does$not$save$us
○But$it$does$provide$us$with$some$sense$of$our$human$capacity
•References$to$pictures$moving$around$the$urn
○Images$are$the$silent$form,$dost$tease$us$out$of$thought
○Defeats$our$attempts$to$reason
○Trying$to$make$sense$of$it
○Raises$us$beyond$intellectual$ speculation$and$moves$us$to$an$intuitive$
level
○We$can't$wrap$our$head$around$the$idea$of$eternity
•Idea$that$it$still$remains$when$old$age$shall$this$generation$waste
○We$will$decay,$but$this$unravished$bride$of$quietness$shall$remain
○The$world$will$continue$to$provide$us$with$woe
○But$art$will$always$be$a$friend$to$man
•"Beauty$is$truth,$truth$beauty,"$that$is$all$/$Ye$know$on$earth,$and$all$ye$need$
to$know.
○Complications$with$these$lines
○They$are$connected$with$the$idea$that$the$excellence$ of$every$art$is$its$
intensity
○Capable$of$making$all$relatables$evaporate
○It$is$not$that$there$are$no$disagreeables$in$the$world,$but$rather$that$
there$is$an$ability$facilitated$by$art$to$look$hard$in$the$face$of$the$basic$
paradoxes,$including$those$of$human$existence
○Melancholy$dwells$with$beauty,$beauty$that$must$die
To$Autumn$(pg.951)
•Also$an$ode
•Celebrates$the$process$of$generation
○That$we$live$in$a$world$beyond$fixity,$beyond$the$stasis$of$immortality
○That$we$find$comfort$even$in$a$world$of$decay
•We$harvest$in$autumn
○To$harvest$is$to$be$denuding$trees$of$their$blossoming
○We$are$experiencing$ the$bounties$of$autumn's$harvest
○We$are$taking$the$apple$of$the$tree
•We$begin$with$a$sense$of$intense$ripeness
•Moving$from$the$vegetable$world,$to$human$activity$(stanza$2)$to$insects$and$
animals$(3)
○From$the$tactile$senses$to$the$visual$to$the$auditory$senses
•What$you$have$finally$is$a$celebration$of$the$transience,$of$the$very$world$of$
decay$which$is$the$same$as$the$world$of$regeneration
○It$is$the$cyclical$nature$of$the$world$which$facilitates$a$world$of$
regeneration$which$depends$on$decay
○It$is$the$full$intensity,$engagement$in$the$breadth$and$depth$of$life$
which$is$celebrated$here
•Comparing$the$consolation$offered$here$to$that$of$the$Odes$to$a$Nightingale$
and$to$the$Grecian$Urn
○The$songs$we$hear$will$never$be$heard$in$a$Grecian$urn
○The$cold$pastoral$is$never$actualised$and$never$in$the$mortal$world$of$
time$and$space
○Here$the$consolation$looks$into$the$heart$of$decay,$which$also$that$of$
the$intensity$of$life
○This$is$not$a$moment$in$which$the$trees$will$never$be$bare
○It$is$a$moment$after$which$the$trees$will$be$bare
Lecture$32
Monday,$February$13,$2017 11:12$AM
Document Summary
Ode to a nightingale (cont. : series of paradoxes by which the speaker recognises that our earthly life is where youth grows thin and spectre dies, where to think is to be full of sorry. So starts off with images of anaesthetising pain: we find something consistent with the speaker"s observation in ode on. Melancholy: even as he imagines himself transcending the concrete world of time and space, indulges more and more of an imagination of that time and space. Biographical evocation of the death of keats" brother, tom: being half in love with easeful death. Even with this suicidal urge, even as he is seeking to fly away, he is also paradoxically indulging in the senses. Only one aspect of keats" feelings are involved: in the next idea, he revolts against the idea of death. The human need to name our longing. Art, that redeems us in some spiritual way.
