Ode To Psyche Commentary

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Commentary on Ode to Psyche

Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane
In some untrodden region of my mind,
Where branched thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,
Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:
Far, far around shall those dark-cluster'd trees
Fledge the wild-ridged mountains steep by steep;
And there by zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees,
The moss-lain Dryads shall be lull'd to sleep;
And in the midst of this wide quietness
A rosy sanctuary will I

With the wreath'd trellis of a working brain,
With buds, and bells, and stars without a name,
With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign,
Who breeding flowers, will never breed the same:
And there shall be for thee all soft delight
That shadowy thought can win,
A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,
To let the warm Love in!

The extract above is the last stanza of John Keats’ Ode to Psyche. Ode to Psyche is the dedication of Keats’s verse to the Greek mythological creature, Psyche, who is the only goddess with no temple in her name. Psyche meant ‘soul’ and Keats’s poem emphasizes on the personal issues of religion and worship, regarding Psyche.

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The last stanza is the most important in the entire poem as it shows the poet’s thoughts and feelings, enhanced by visual imagery as he describes his emotions with the help of nature and words. He talks about a mysterious, unknown forest, filled with expanding branches of pine trees, creeping up the precipices of mountains that provide a peaceful atmosphere to the altar to be built for Psyche. The shrine shall be built in a colorful manner, amidst the “zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees, surrounded by the sounds of nature. Keats ends his poem by emphasizing on a window ...

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