The streak of sadness in Keats’ poetry: understanding meaning through his structures and lexis

Abstract

Keats' short and tragic life left him with fewer options to enjoy and celebrate the colours of nature and fruits of love. His odes communicate a host of emotions which strived to find expression. Keats' preoccupation with self, his fear of pain and death, his unfulfilled desires of love, his tendency to escape from the agonising present to nature or to a world of fancy are some predominant emotions which find their place in different forms in his poetry. Through all his odes, there runs a streak of sadness which connects his odes in a very eloquent manner. The sorrow reverberates throughout his odes in different fashion and haunts the reader in the same way as it haunted Keats himself. Keats' poetry has been a subject of appreciation and criticism both. The genuineness with which he voiced his feelings capture attention. Keats did not obscure his writing by adding complex tropes or intellectual allusions and employing intricate structures. Agreeable rhythmic patterns, simplistic structures and lexis retain interest and are prime reason for the admiration of his odes. The present paper studies the theme of sadness in Keats' odes. As we go through his famous odes we understand how his world was revolving around his lone self, its fears, desires and wishes. We also understand the way he handled sadness and pain and wished to escape repeatedly. The paper is an attempt to observe the structure and lexis of his odes and understand a connection between his style and theme