To Autumn - The Final Season In the Life of a Poet
The years between 1818 and 1821 mark the final stage in John Keat's life. During this time period, Keats created some of his best poetry. These works would forever elevate Keats as a brilliant and talented poet whose mark would be left on the literary world forever. The last years of Keat's life were met with many challenges as well as inspirations. It was a combination of these which not only influenced, but inspired Keats to write such poems as, "The Eve of St. Agnes," "Lamia," "The Fall of Hyperion," and "To Autumn." "To Autumn" exemplifies maturity, resolution, perfection, and unification of a poem, a season, a day, and a poet.
John Keats was born on October 31, 1795, on the northern outskirts of London. In 1804, his father was thrown from a horse and died of a skull fracture. The following year, Keat's grandfather died. It was also about this time that his mother disappeared from her children's lives, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Three years later, in 1808, she reappeared ill with tuberculosis. In 1810 she died. Watching his mother die had a very strong impact on Keats. It may have influenced his decision to become a doctor. In 1811, at the age of sixteen, he became an apprentice to a Dr. Hammond. It was also at this time that Keats was handed a copy of Spenser's "Faerie Queen" by his friend and tutor, Cowden Clarke (Nylander). Keats became extremely interested in poetry.
By 1816, Keats was working in Guy's hospital in London as an apothecary and surgeon. Still, he continued to be drawn to poetry. In 1817, he was introduced to Leigh Hunt, a young journalist and poet who had a profound influence on his ...
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...nce between life and death. There is the closure of a season, a day and a genius poet. In "To Autumn" Keats asks, "Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?" He need not worry. They are eternal within his poetry.
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Nylander, Jon. Online posting. 5 Oct. 1999. John Keats Life Page. 119, Mar. 2000. <http://hem.passagen.se/jonnyl/keats/>
"To Autumn". The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton, Inc., 2000.
Ward. Aileen. John Keats The Making of a Poet. New York: The Viking Press, Inc., 1963.
Euripides. Medea. Medea and Other Plays. Trans. John Davie. New York: Penguin, 2003. 51-87. Print.
Keats, John. “The Eve of St. Agnes”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic
White, Keith D. John Keats And The Loss Of Romantic Innocence.(Costerus NS 107). Minneapolis: Rodopi BV Editions, 1996. Print.
The Greek playwright, Euripides, is considered one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens. His individuality is attributed to the way he “pushes to the limits of what an audience can stand” . His masterpiece Medea , a fascinating classic centered on the Greek goddess Medea, is a prime example of this. During his time, Euripides was unpopular since he defied the commons themes of tragedies during the 430s B.C.E.; he instead introduced a nihilistic and disturbing tragedy focused on women, slaves and persons from the lower class. His mastery shines through as he guides the audience to sympathize with Medea even when she commits filicide, a seemingly horrendous act. He utilizes the Chorus, the Nurse, and the Children-which are all minor characters-to induce compassion for Medea, establish the development of her emotional state, and ascertain the importance of her pride. Although these characters guide the audience towards similar concepts, they represent a contradiction when it comes to the slaughter of the Children.
“William Butler Yeats.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 09 May 2014.
"Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too." So often, people look back upon their youth and wish that they still had it before them. Our natural tendency is to fear old age, to see it as the precursor to death, rather than a time of life, desirable in its own right. However, in John Keats' poem, To Autumn, he urges us not to take this view, but to see old age as a beautiful and enviable state of life, rather than something to be feared.
The tragic play Medea is a struggle between reason and violence. Medea is deliberately portrayed as not a ‘normal woman’, but excessive in her passions. Medea is a torment to herself and to others; that is why Euripides shows her blazing her way through life leaving wreckage behind her. Euripides has presented Medea as a figure previously thought of exclusively as a male- hero. Her balance of character is a combination of the outstanding qualities of Achilles and Odysseus.
To conclude it has been firmly established that Keats had a profound ability to use literary techniques. Throughout his all his Odes he uses a variety of different devices, bringing forth our senses of taste, sight, smell, hearing and touch, creating an overall unique sensual experience. In reading his poetry I have gained a new found adoration and insight to the world of poetry. Reading deeper into the use of certain words and images has demonstrated that each word is as important as the previous, or next in this establishment of arousing ones senses. The world of sense has truly been evoked throughout Keats masterpieces.
These focus elements, of pity and fear are essentially what formulate the action within Medea, and in turn, reflect upon the characters creating a relevance to the audience, and the cathartic response for which Aristotle was so passionate. A key point within the text of Medea, which represents the perpetuation of these emotive elements, is when she is informed by Kreon, [Lord of Corinth] that she is to be exiled, as the following excerpt details.
John Keats was born in London on October 31, 1795. He was educated at Clarke’s School in Enfield. He enjoyed a liberal education that mainly reflected on his poetry. His father died when he was eight and his mother died when he was fourteen. After his mother died, his maternal grandmother granted two London merchants, John Rowland Sandell and Richard Abbey, guardianship. Abbey played a major roll in the development of Keats, as Sandell only played a minor one. These circumstances drew him extremely close to his two brothers, George and Tom, and his sister Fanny. When he 15, Abbey removed him from the Clarke School, as he became an apothecary-surgeon’s apprentice. Then in 1815, he became a student at Guy’s Hospital. He registered for a six- month course to become a licensed surgeon. Soon after he decided he was going to be a doctor he realized his true passion was in poetry. So he decided he would try to excel in poetry also. His poetry that he wrote six years before his death was not very good. As his life progressed his poetry became more mature and amazing. He looked up to Shakespeare and Milton. He studied a lot of there poetry and imitated these two writers. His work resembled Shakespeare.
As the famous Greek playwright Euripides once said: “Stronger than lover's love is lover's hate. Incurable, in each, the wounds they make.” Such ideas are portrayed in one of him most famous plays, Medea. This play is a fascinating classic centered on the Greek goddess Medea. Despite its recent fame, during his time, Euripides was unpopular since he used what would be considered a ‘modern’ view where he would focus on women, slaves and persons from the lower classes. In the play, Medea commits filicide, which initially appears extremely horrendous, but as the audience is guided through the play, they develop sympathy towards Medea. In order to achieve this empathy and enhance the understanding of Medea’s pride and ideals, Euripides utilizes the Chorus, the Nurse, and the Children- all are which minor characters. Granted that these characters overall have overlapping roles and guide the audience towards the same concept, at some topics they disagree or contradict each other.
John Keats is an early nineteenth century Romantic poet. In his poem “When I have Fears that I May Cease to Be,” Keats makes excellent use of a majority of poetry elements. This sonnet concentrates merely on his fear of death and his reasons for fearing it. Though Keats’ emphasizes his greatest fear of death, he offers his own resolution by asserting that love and fame lacks any importance. Keats uses articulate wording to exemplify his tone, while using images, figures of speech, symbols, and allegory to illustrate his fear of death. His use of rhythm, sounds, and patters also contribute to his concentration of fear and the effects on his life. As one of the most famous Romantic poets, John Keats utilizes the elements of poetry in “When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be” to convey his fears and allow the reader to realize how much these fears affect him.
Keats, John. Ode to Autumn. The Norton Anthology of English Lit. Ed. M. H. Abrams, et al. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York: Norton, 2000.
Through this relationship between the Chorus and the audience, Euripedes is able to influence the audience to sympathise with Medea. In their first stasimon, a mutual suffering is shown between Medea and the Chorus:
Keats is one of the greatest lovers and admirers of nature. In his poetry, we come across exquisitely beautiful descriptions of the wonder sigts and senses of nature. He looks with child-like delight at the objects of nature and his whole being is thrilled by what he sees and hears. Everything in nature for him is full of wonder and mystery - the rising sun, the moving cloud, the growing bud and the swimming fish.