Analysis of John Keats' "On the Sonnet"

(For actual poem see page 799 in Norton): In tail end Keats On the Sonnet, he urges fellow poets to non allow their poetical genius, their M purpose die, because it is confined to the parameters of then-stream Petrarchan and Shakespe arean praise organises. While he follows neither form, (thus requiring further analysis to understand the logic of his poem), his use of symbolism makes his message more than than clear. He starts the poem with an allusion to Andromeda, who, according to Hellenic myth, was chained to a list so that she would be devoured by a sea daimon (Norton 799). He uses this image to hold the fate of poetry, if it follows the unsatisfactory form of either Petrarchan or Shakespearean praises. This image is portrayed in the first three lines, If by dull rhymes our English essential be chained, /And like Andromeda, the praise sweet /Fettered, in enmity of pain and loveliness, which stern be translated as If our poetry essential be confined by t he current sonnet forms, and count the fate of Andromeda, despite our minute at ecstasytion...[then...]. The second clause of the thought introduced in lines one with three, the implied then, is found in lines iv done nine. Keats writes, Let us find, if we must be constrained, /Sandals more inter distort and comp permite /To check out the tender foot of metrical composition: /Let us stare the lyre, and iron out the stress /Of every accord, and see what may be gained /By ear industrious, and attention meet. According to the footnote provided in Norton, Poesy refers to a need voiced in a letter, in which Keats wrote out this poem and then discussed his impatience with the traditional Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms: I have been endeavoring to discover a ameliorate sonnet stanza than we have. The word lyre apprize mean harp, entirely quarter in addition be a symbol for lyric poetry, and accord laughingstock mean a string of a musical instrument, such as a harp, but advise alike refer to poet! ry, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. With this in mind, lines four by dint of nine can be interpreted to mean, [if we must be chained like this], then lets find intricately interweave sandals, (symbolic of new, undiscovered sonnet forms; Keats need), to set upl my need: lets watch the harp (symbolic of lyric poetry), and listen to every chord (continuing the illustration of the harp, chords are symbolic of lines within lyric poetry), and lets see what we can accomplish through careful listening and attention. Finally, in the locomote in five lines of the sonnet, Keats directly addresses his fellow poets as misers, which has a mental image meaning. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, misers substance poets, but it also means miserable people. This intentional word punning expresses Keats view that poets are currently miserable, because of the inadequacy of the current sonnet forms. In lines ten through fourteen, he writes, Misers of sound and sylla ble, no less /Than Midas of his coinage, let us be /Jealous of unfounded leaves in the bay-wreath visor; /So, if we may not let the hypothecate be free, /She volition be bound with garlands of her own. Midas was a bollocks up who had the power to modus operandi everything that he touched into gold. According to Norton, jealous meant suspiciously watchful. Also, in reference to the bay-wreath crown, according to the sixth footnote, The bay direct was ineffable to Apollo, god of poetry, and bay wreaths came to symbolize rightful(a) poetic achievement. The diminish of the bay tree is sometimes considered an omen of finis. Keats continued the thought, implying that when the leaves of the bay-wreath crown, which represents uncoiled poetic achievement, begin to die, they are a warning of destruction to that very piece of poetry. Finally Muse refers to a poets inspiration, which may be killed once it is bound by the dying leaves (garland) of the bay-wreath crown, which is fulfil by not using ones Muse to its sufficiente! st creative potential. These lines can thus be translated as Fellow miserable/ queer poets, lets be suspiciously watchful of omens of death to our poetry; if we do not let our inspiration run free, it will die too. John Keats, evidently disillusioned by the available forms through which to write poetry, expresses his dissatisfaction in his sonnet, On the Sonnet. Because he uses an ambiguous, unidentifiable sonnet form, instead of the Shakespearean or the Petrarchan sonnet forms, the integrity of his argument is not undermined. In this way, not only does he express his hatred for the current sonnet forms, but refuses to use them as he communicates this frustration in his own sonnet. If you want to get a full essay, launch it on our website: OrderEssay.net

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