Ode to a Nightingale-John Keats

Let's have a look into how "John Keats" himself have considered "the concept of death" by refering his own poem called "Ode to a Nightingale"!

Ode to a Nightingale 

"With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

And purple-stained mouth;

That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,

And with thee fade away into the forest dim".

Here it says about someone who is carving for death and speaks of abandoning the world with someone, yet isn't cleared who is one. It also suggests Indian traditional  rituals,  prevailing in vivid religions of having Ganga/Holi water, in muslim "Zamzam water" so the person may have easy death and leisurely quit from the world.

Furthermore we see the person's strong desire of going into forest and vaporize oneself.

Poetic beauty: To illustrate poetic beauty, we have an example from the poem, "beaded bubbles(bubbles are just a particle of water, and it forms out with the natural process of water's all under going procedure, and so it has liquified layered circle, one after another)winking at the brim(bubbles can't wink is also an understandable thing though it seems to be at surface level as winking).

Poetic truth(seriousness): It also has "seriousness" in tone, as we see here the tone of death, hidden in the last line of this particular stanza. (We can also evaluate some of the signs with code and structuralism approach) also see the tendency of "Thanatophobia" but here it is contrasting, as aged people are psycologically and mentally getting retarded and wants as soon as possible to end their life, the person presented in this poem, doesn't want to. But wants to willingly die as to have the taste of poetry.

"Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget

What thou among the leaves hast never known,

The weariness, the fever, and the fret

Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;

Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last grey hairs".

Then it is being discussed about the worldy weariness, concurrent things those going on between people, and also about old age, that how at certain point a person is to leave the world.

Furthermore it is said as it is considered by many religiously scriptures, where after death noone is going to face the same pain as they were used to in their usual life, here especially "heaven" is considered in this terms and they will be eternally in ecstatic, hilarious, unburdened mood(criticism of life, though in terms of mythology and poetic beauty as it has two faced meaning[heaven as well as of reality of life]).

It also has "Thanatology" like psychological concept in the very last line(as the dead end of aged people is described in terms of palsy)

"Away! away! for I will fly to thee,

Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,

But on the viewless wings of Poesy,

Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:

Already with thee! tender is the night".

Here the spirituality in terms of poetry is prescribed or can say "according to Mathew Arnold(concerning future of poetry) an idea of philosophy is produced(as it is said "But on the view less wings of Poesy"). Here again it has done the same in contrasting manner with the "last" and "last second line"(dull brain perplexes and retards Vs tender is the night).

Essence of poetry:

We are to see here "the concept of easeful death" can be said in love for death, which is contrasting the idea of "Thanatology" as is concerned with aged people. But it is presented in very different people. People who were willingly committing death were considered as applying "Euthanasia device" but to get rid of their particular diseases, while here the writer wants to sacrifice his life, to be in eternal spirituality of the afterlife of death.

Conclusively in this poetry we see all ideas of Mathew Arnold, regarding "the study of the poetry essay" where seriousness, truthfulness, poetic truth, poetic beauty as well as "Freud" thanatology (psychological death concept) can be seen explicitly.

Thankyou

Samiya Kagdi

A learner at PG center

Department of English 

MKBU

SOURCE: 

https://dilipbarad.blogspot.com/2010/12/literary-criticism-in-age-of.html

https://samiyakagdi313.blogspot.com/2019/12/thinking-activity-john-keats-writers.html