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Background Information
Note: Being a student of Sargodha University, my analysis only covers the first fifty lines of Endymion, apart from the background information.
Endymion is a poetic romance which was first published in 1818. The poem is famous for its opening line, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever". The poem is based upon the Greek Mythology of Endymion. Endymion is a shepherd who chose sleep to remain youthful always. He is loved by the goddess of the moon, Selene. However, in this poem, Selene is replaced with Cynthia. Keats wrote this poem to dedicate it to Thomas Chatterton.
Development of Situation
The poem begins with the immortal significance of a beautiful 'thing'. The poet considers sleeping a useful tool for dreams based on imagination. The speaker of this poem is quite happy to narrate the romantic mythology of Endymion. As soon as the poet thinks about the story, everything attached to the story is brought fresh before his eyes.
each pleasant sceneIs growing fresh before me as the greenOf our own valleys:
The poet is hopeful to compose this long poem before the blooming of daises (flowers with white petals).
Themes
I was able to extract the following themes from these lines.
Immortality of Beauty
The opening theme of this poem is the immortality of beauty. Keats is the poet of beauty as he is an ardent preacher of beauty. In this poem, Keats openly asserts that joy is brought through beauty. And this joy is immortal. Beauty and joy are interconnected. Once our body feels the pulses of a beautiful spectacle, the joyful feelings take over our world of gloom.
Escapism
The second theme sprouting from the first theme of these lines is escapism. Beauty, both imaginative and concrete, is a means of the escape from the "fever and fret" of life. Although the intention of the poet is to narrate the mythological story of the shepherd Endymion, Keats wants to narrate it in an atmosphere that is far from the cries of life. However, a careful reading of the text reveals that Keats has already escaped into the countryside for the purpose of poetic narration,
so I will beginNow while I cannot hear the city's din
Thus, Keats is emphasizing that a pastoral escape is essential to write something beautiful.
Figurative Devices
This small portion of Endymion also has some notable figurative devices waiting to be discovered. The poet has used similes to compare the freshness of the recollection of the story of Endymion with greenery near the valley. Keats has used the metaphor of beauty for joys and happiness. However, the "flowery band" has been used as a symbol of beauty that unites us all and makes life colourful. As far as the whole poem is concerned, it directly alludes to the mythology of Endymion, thus using a literary device known as an allusion.
Setting and Imagery
The setting of this patch of the poem is pastoral. However, the time period of this poem is the beginning of the season of Spring. (Correct me if my assumption is wrong). Even in this small piece of poem, Keats has used striking imagery. The images may include like, "A flowery band", "clear rills", "early budders are just new", "streams that deepen freshly into bowers" and "vermeil rimm'd and white".
Structural Analysis
Endymion is a long poem. The poem consists of 4,000 lines, divided into four books or sections of 1,000 lines each. However, in the course outline of Sargodha University, only the first fifty verses are included. The poem is made of the continuous pairs of heroic couplets. Thus, following the rhyme scheme of AABBCCDD... The poem follows a rhythmic pattern of iambic pentameter.
Conclusion
Endymion is a beautiful poetic romance that appropriately amplifies the role of beauty in eliminating the sorrows of life and making it joyful 'forever.
Sources and Suggested Readings
Tags:
Modern Poetry
