Ode on Melancholy (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Keats
- First Published: 1820
- Type of Work: Ode
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Ode
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Nature, Beauty, Pain, Gods or goddesses, Drugs, Depression, mental, Poisons or poisoning, Joy or sorrow, Aesthetics, Pleasure
The Poem
“Ode on Melancholy” is a three-stanza poem addressed to people who are susceptible to fits of melancholy, and it offers a prescription for coping with “the blues.” John Keats says that the melancholy mood is full of beauty and potential spiritual instruction. Therefore, instead of seeking escape through intoxication or even suicide, the melancholy individual should savor the mood because it has divine properties. Lethe, referred to in the opening line, was one of the rivers of Hades in Greek and Roman mythology; drinking from it was supposed to cause...
[The entire page is 1590 words long]
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