Poetry Response- ODE

Anna Cantwell
Mrs. Jernigan
AP English Lit
8 March 2011
Ode to a Nightingale
John Keats' poem “Ode to a Nightingale” epitomizes the style of a brooding, lyrical ode. It barely mentions, much less dwells on a sing-song bird—instead he harps on a much more complex topic. The narrator begins describing his heavy heart, laden with the burden and drudgery of life on Earth. Like any addict, he has numbed himself to the outside world; his senses are as though they have been dulled by drugs (opiates) and poison (hemlocks). Yet still, in his benumbed state, his ear recognizes a sweet harmony from the trees that sings in an utterly carefree passion. Keats salutes this bird and envies its talent of loosing the yoke of day to day anxiety.
The drama only heightens in the second stanza, as he cries, “That I might drink, and leave the world unseen”. This statement coupled with a disturbingly intricate description of alcohol suggest that maybe this person's trouble doesn't lie in worry, but in alcoholism. His desire, however, isn't a bit of bubbly or a dark draught. He only wishes to “fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget”. Here the reader can see that this poem represents much more than the exhortation of a bird. Keats challenges the reader with an intriguing thought—are we all an addict to something?
The third stanza speaks similarly to “Nothing Gold Can Stay”; beauty cannot stay beautiful forever, and new love will lose its luster. He employs mythological allusion to expand his theories further. Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, and his counterparts (presumably drinks) cannot take the narrator to a place anew with drunkenness, for all that will accomplish is numbing the pain. Later he glorifies death, especially as he returns, emotionally, to a place of deep depression. He calls the nightingale “immortal,” and in that it appears that he has found the truth—earnest joy will set you free. Circumstances may change and trials will surely come, but one cannot dwell on the worst, but must affix his eyes on the best.