Wednesday, March 23

Romantic Literature – Keats and Shelley No homework

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

1792-1822

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Nature as sublime truth Volcanic personality

More melancholy Outspoken against

marriage Chose exile in Italy

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Other famous works: “Ode the the West Wind”, “To a Sylark”

Ozymedias Another name for Ramses the Great The speaker recalls having met a traveler “from

an antique land,” who told him a story about the ruins of a statue in the desert of his native country.

Longs historically on the past The redemptive power of nature The idea of nature’s sympathy with humankind The view that one who is close to nature is

close to God

Ozymandias

JOHN KEATS

1795-1821

John Keats 1795-1821 English, Romantic,

Nature poet Lamented the

fleeting nature of life’s pleasures

Contemplated the briefness of life.

Best known for his odes.

Life and inspiration

Mother and brother died of tuberculosis

Keats died of TB at age 25

What effect might this have on his poetry?

Life and inspiration

Threat of death: Heightened

awareness of:BeautyHuman loveFriendship

Virtues of a higher reality achieved permanence only in art.

“Ode on an Grecian Urn” 1816 – Keats visits the Elgin

Marbles at British Museum Inspires the following ode Ode: a lyrical poem of a certain

structure usually of a serious or meditative nature.

A poem full of paradox a statement whose two parts

seem contradictory yet make sense with more thought

“Deep down, he’s very shallow”

“He has ears, but cannot hear”

“Ode on an Grecian Urn”

1. Read the poem together.2. Pair up with the person next to you. 3. Take out a clean piece of paper.4. I will project two questions. The partner

wearing more jewelry will answer the first question while the other partner answers the second question.

5. Really put thought into this. Then, after about five minutes, switch papers and respond to your partners thoughts. Address them directly.

“Ode on an Grecian Urn”

1. In stanza III, How does Keats portray real life and actual passion in the last three lines? Which is preferable, the urn life or real life? What about the repetition of “happy?”

2. In stanza IV, why does Keats give three possible locations for the imaginary town? Why does he use the word “folk,” rather than “people?”

“Ode on an Grecian Urn”

1. In the final couplet, is Keats saying that pain is beautiful?

2. Are the concluding lines a philosophical statement about life or do they make sense only in the context of the poem?