"A Thing of Beauty"(Endymion)
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.
“Endymion” is a poem by John Keats first published in 1818. It begins with the line "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever". Endymion is written with rhyming couplets. In combination with the creative writing style of iambic pentameter. This creative writing form is also known as heroic couplets illustrating a raised sense of awareness. Keats based the poem on the Greek myth of Endymion. Endymion is a shepherd that is loved by the moon goddess Selene. The poem elaborates on the original story and renames Selene "Cynthia".
It starts by painting a rustic scene of trees, rivers, shepherds, and sheep. Romantisism poets are known for using nature to illustrating tone of the poem. The shepherds gather around an altar and pray to Pan, god of shepherds and flocks. As the youths sing and dance, the elder men sit and talk about what life would be like in the shades of Elysium. However, Endymion, the mentally challenged prince of Mt. Latmos, is in a trancelike state, and not participating in their discourse. His sister, Peona, takes him away and brings him to her resting place where he sleeps. After he wakes, he tells Peona of his encounter with Cynthia, and how much he loved her.
The poem is divided into four books, each approximately 1000 lines long. The first book illustraits Endymion's account of his dreams and experiences, also setting the background for the rest of the poem. In the second book, Endymion ventures into the underworld in search of his love. While in the underworld Endymion encounters Adonis, a young mortal and Venus a roman goddess. This illustraits pairing of mortal and immortal foreshadowing a similar destiny for the mortal Endymion and his immortal infatuation. The third book reveals Endymion's enduring love, and he begs the Moon not to torment him any longer as he journeys through a watery void on the sea floor. In the fourth and final installment Endymion falls in love with a beautiful Indian maiden. Both ride winged black steeds to Mount Olympus where Cynthia awaits, only for Endymion to forsake the goddess for his new, mortal, love. Endymion and the Indian girl return to earth, the latter saying she cannot be his love. He is miserable, till quite suddenly he comes upon the Indian maiden again and she reveals that she is in fact Cynthia. She then tells him of how she tried to forget him, and move on.
"A thing of Beauty" Analysis
john Keates Poem And Analysis
