Abstract

RHETORICAL DEVICES IN THE EARLY POETRY OF JOHN KEATS

Dr. Dhananjay Kumar Singh

Volume: 2 Issue: 3 2012

Abstract:

An attempt has been made in this paper to discuss rhetorical devices in the early poetry of John Keats (1795-1821). That he is regarded as a poet of verbal felicity and sensuous evocation reads like stating the obvious. His literary output is simply awesome. In order to understand the use and functions of the odes in the Keatsian oeuvre, it is necessary to divide them into three groups. The first group is comprised of the six great odes- Ode to Psyche, Ode to Nightingale, Ode to Melancholy, Ode on Grecian Urn and Ode to Autumn. The second group includes Ode to Apollo, Hymn to Apollo, Ode to Fancy, Ode to Poets, On the Mermaid Tavern, To Fanny, On a Lock of Milton’s Hair, and to Mai. And to Pan (Book i). To Neptune (Book iii), To Diana (Book iv), and To Sorrow (Book iv) constitute the third group of the odes and are taken from Endymion. Here it is worth mentioning that the second and third groups of the poems share some common characteristics. They are treated as minor poetry, lacking in substance. They are denied profundity of thought and are also denounced as Keats’s indulgences in his fancies. All the same none can deny the rich, concrete, and sensuous imagery of these poems. No one can ignore their vivid descriptions and their mythical illusions that occur frequently in the poems of John Keats.

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References

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• Peter Barry, Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory (New Delhi : Viva Books Private Limited, First Indian Edition, 2010).
• All citations for Rhetorical Devices in the Early poetry of John Keats are taken from The Poetical Works Of John Keats edited by H. W. Garrod (Oxford at the Clarendon press) 1939 .