JOHN KEATS AS A ROMANTIC POET

Among all the romantics, Keats was the last to be born and the first to die. As a romantic poet, he was greatly inspired by Greek art and culture. He was also inspired by Elizabethans especially Spenser. He is a true romantic poet and makes poetry an instrument for the expression of his personal and emotional expression.Other romantics have some political and social comment in their poetry, but Keats’ poetry is not the vehicle for any propaganda. It has no moral, political or social considerations. He wrote poetry for the sake of poetry.

            A very significant element which is found in Keats’ poetry is more or less a desire for escape. Romantic poetry presents the world of dreams. Therefore, the romantic poets seek an escape from the hard realities of life in the world of imagination. He says:       “Away! Away! For I will fly to thee,”

Keats not only wants to escape into the world of beauty but also into the world of the past which is sacred for him. Most of his poems have been written under the inspiration of the past, Keats’ imagination is inspired by the Greeks and the middle ages.

           Another salient feature of romanticism is the note of melancholy. Keats’ poetry is also colored by melancholy. Most of his poetry is devoted to love, pathos, and disappointment in love, loss of beauty and to the loss of joy. Again his rich and sensuous description, scattered all over his poetry is romantic in tone. Being a sensuous poet, he loves beauty. Beauty for him is synonymous with truth. To him,

                           “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.’’

Beauty is his religion and in his pursuit of beauty, he forgets everything around him. Another characteristic of his romantic poetry is his love of nature. All romantic poets love nature but Keats’ love for nature is different from than that of others. Keats loves nature for its beauty and charm and he does not try to find any hidden meanings in nature rather he describes it as he sees it. One of the most striking feature element of his poetry is his use of supernaturalism. His imagination is lured by the remote, shadowy and mysterious world. To conclude, we can say that Keats’ poetry is a fine example of highly romantic poetry. In fact, it touches almost all the aspects of romantic poetry.