Ode To A Nightingale
Choose a poem which you think could be described as a "quiet" or "reflective" poem.
Show how the poet has achieved this effect and discuss to what extent you find it a suitable way of dealing with the subject matter in the poem.
In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of mood; theme; sound; imagery; rhythm or any other appropriate feature.
"Ode To A Nightingale" by John Keats is a poem which Keats wrote when he was dying. Due to this, the poem is extremely reflective on the things Keats considers important to him, namely life, death and his imagination. By using the nightingale to embody these aspects, Keats is effective, in my opinion, in attempting to deal with the matter at hand, and involving me in his struggle between life and death.
One of the things which the nightingale represents to Keats is death. This is not surprising as he is near death and so it is influencing the way he thinks. At times Keats welcomes death and at other times is undecided, but always the nightingale is used as a representation for it.
"That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:"
He is talking to the nightingale here, telling it that he will go with it, into the forest. Here the nightingale signifies death and Keats is wishing to follow it, to, in effect, die. Keats uses the metaphor of fading to show his transition into death. This use of imagery emphasizes the reflective nature of Keats, and I find it a very effective way to show how he is thinking.
As the nightingale represents death, Keats embraces ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
"That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:"
He is talking to the nightingale here, telling it that he will go with it, into the forest. Here the nightingale signifies death and Keats is wishing to follow it, to, in effect, die. Keats uses the metaphor of fading to show his transition into death. This use of imagery emphasizes the reflective nature of Keats, and I find it a very effective way to show how he is thinking.
As the nightingale represents death, Keats embraces it and sees it as the only real painless way.
"I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a muséd rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;"
This image of death is very romantic. Here, Keats seems to like the idea of dying. As this seems dreamlike, it adds to the reflection in the poem, and the subtle sounds of "soft" and "quiet" add to this dreamlike, reflective quality. This incredibly idealistic view perhaps hides Keats' true feelings in an attempt to reduce his fear of death, a method which, to me, seems quite a natural way to deal with impending death.
Along with death, the nightingale also seems to represent Keats' imagination. At the start of the poem, he wishes to fuel his imagination with wine, and then embraces poetry and inspiration instead.
"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"
Keats insists that wine will not be his stimulation for imagination, but that instead "Poesy" or poetry will be. Keats says he is inspired already when he says he is "already with thee". This is also the nightingale he is talking about, and this is where the bird represents his imagination. Keats is reflecting on his inspiration and its origins at this point in his life. This reflection of his life is, in my opinion, is very suitable.
The final thing which Keats uses the nightingale to represent is life. Throughout the poem he presents very life affirming views, but ultimately, he sees life as painful.
"That thou, light-wingéd Dryad of the trees,
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease."
This is a very positive life affirming image as Keats hears the nightingales song. It seems he is almost consumed by the song. This shows how the nightingale signifies life. This reflection on the nightingales song is an effective way of dealing with death. I think that to be consumed by something takes away the pain of existing issues, and Keats, like most others, probably feels the same.
"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,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;"
Conversely, this shows life as a painful thing, from which Keats wants release. He has made his mind up as to what life is like for him and others. This contemplation shows where he is in his life and musings. It seems Keats is prepared to die, and this shows that.
In conclusion, Keats makes the poem very reflective by reflecting on the meaning of life through a nightingale. For Keats, the nightingale represents, in essence, the cycle of life, and shows that death an exist along with life. The bird also represents Keats imagination, and this he also reflects on, along with the complexity of life and death. I think that Keats was very effective is achieving a reflective poem which deals with the intricacy of death and the agony of life.
