Keats' paradoxical approach

Question

0 After studying the major odes of keats, it seems that one of the dominant themes in it is the transitoriness or the decay of beauty. for example when he says: 02br00"Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget02br00What thou among the leaves hast never known,02br00The weariness, the fever, and the fret02br00Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;02br00Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,02br00Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;02br00Where but to think is to be full of sorrow02br00And leaden-eyed despairs;02br00Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,02br00Or new love pine at them beyond tomorrow".02br02br00similar themes are also present in his ode on a grecian urn and to psyche and to fancy..but his another famous poem opens with the lines:02br00"a thing of beauty is a joy for ever,02br00its lovely increases it will never pass into nithngness". 02br00so my question is that IS NOT THERE A VERY SHARP CONTRAST BETWEEN THESE TWO APPROACHES, IF YES WHY.. AND IF NOT.. HOW? can any body explain it to me? 0-

Feebs11 · Accepted Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Bird Of Paradise12cite10After studying the major odes of 11font10K12font10eats, it seems that one of the dominant themes in11font10 them12font10 is the transitoriness or the decay of beauty. 11font10F12font10or example11font10,12font10 when he says: 12br
12br
10"Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget12br
10What thou among the leaves hast never known,12br
10The weariness, the fever, and the fret12br
10Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;12br
10Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,12br
10Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;12br
10Where but to think is to be full of sorrow12br
10And leaden-eyed despairs;12br
10Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,12br
10Or new love pine at them beyond tomorrow".12br
12br
11font10S12font10imilar themes are also present in his 11font11i10O12i12font11i11font12font10de on a 11font10G12font10recian 11font10U12font10rn12i10 and 11font11i10Ode to Psyche12i12font10 and 11font10to fancy.12font10.11font10B12font10ut 11font11del~~10his 12del~~12font10another famous poem opens with the lines:12br
12br
10"11font10A12font10 thing of beauty is a joy for ever,12br
10its lovely increases11b11font10;12font12b10 it will never pass into n11font10o12font10thngness". 12br
12br
11font10S12font10o my question is 11font11b10: 12b12font11b11font12font12b10IS NOT THERE A VERY SHARP CONTRAST BETWEEN THESE TWO APPROACHES11font10. I12font10F YES11font10,?12font10 WHY11font12font10 AND IF NOT.. HOW? 11font10C12font10an 11font10anybody12font10 explain it to me?12blockquote

1500230hrefhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A813962

Sdk · Answer

1b00This is very much true that these lines show contrast. But if we ponder over Keats Poetry, we find Negative Capability. Keats ever tries to grasp the eternal beauty and to find eternal perfection in what he sees. In quoted Ode, Keats tries to cross the boundaries of time and space by seeking refuge in the shunty of beauty. However, the fever and fret of life refrains him from his quest and he yearns for the emotions of the painted lovers. He wants to move from finite to infinite as he says,02b02br
02br
01b00Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter;02b02br
02br
01b00Therefore, ye soft pipes play on; not to the sensual ears, but more endear'd02b02br
02br
01b00To the spirit ditties of no tone.02b02br
02br
01b00He wants to negate himself and to become a part of the thing he sees, but he fails. At this stage, he lacks the Shakespearan quality. However, he tries to become one with the Grecian Urn and to some extent he succeeds where he says,02b02br
02br
01b00Beauty is truth, truth's beauty; that's all02b02br
02br
01b00Ye know on earth and all ye need to know.02b02br
02br
01b00However, Keats perfection as an artist is completely revealed in his Ode to Autumn, where he identifies himself with the Autumn and dont complain against the harshness of autumn weather, yet he is happy with it. Here too, such glimpses come, where he says,02b00 01b00where are the songs of spring?----thou has thy music too.02b02br
02br
01b00The crux of the matter is that Keats explores the hidden and untouched horizens of spiritual beauty through the medium of physical beauty. For him beauty is truth and truth is not perishable. That's why he says, A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.02b0-

Keats' paradoxical approach

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