Wednesday, March 23
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Romantic Literature – Keats and Shelley
No homework 
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
1792-1822
Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Nature as sublime truth
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Volcanic personality
More melancholy
Outspoken against
marriage
Chose exile in Italy
Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Other famous works:
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“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
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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
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Mother and brother died
of tuberculosis
Keats died of TB at age
25
What effect might this
have on his poetry?
Life and inspiration
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Threat of death:
 Heightened awareness of:
 Beauty
 Human love
 Friendship
 Virtues of a higher reality
achieved permanence only
in art.
“Ode on an Grecian Urn”
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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”
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5.
Read the poem together.
Pair up with the person next to you.
Take out a clean piece of paper.
I will project two questions. The partner wearing
more jewelry will answer the first question while the
other partner answers the second question.
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.
2.
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?”
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”
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2.
In the final couplet, is Keats saying that pain is
beautiful?
Are the concluding lines a philosophical statement
about life or do they make sense only in the
context of the poem?