Analysis of John Keats Ode to Psyche - Book Report/Review Example

John Keats’ “Ode to Psyche A Poem that Diverges from the Known Mythology of Psyche and Cupid Thepoem “Ode to Psyche” by John Keats is developed as an example of the ode format, but with some experimentation with its structure. Along with experimentation with the format, Keats experimented with the mythology of the story of Psyche and Cupid (Watkins 88). His development of his own worship of the goddess is based upon an obscuring of the standard myth to elevate the nature of Psyche to a higher deity who deserves his adoration. The language of the poem is lyrical, creating a sense of nature and beauty through heavy and weighted descriptions. Keats puts himself in the center of this poem, his declaration of worship placing the subject of this worship entirely within his control. Is it possible that the beauty that he is referring to is actually the beauty of the written word and of poems? In looking at the poem “Ode to Psyche”, understanding the history and meanings of both the ode and Psyche allows the reader to place the writing into context with the efforts that Keats was making towards writing. Keats was experimenting when he wrote “Ode to Psyche”, stretching both the ode format and the myths of Psyche upon which he based his poem. Bate claims that the structure of this poem as it related to the ode format was “much less firm” than his other odes which were written later (487). Bate goes on to discuss that this ode seems to have been his experimentation with the format as his later odes were much more clearly formatted in the style that is associated with Keats. He suggests that in studying his later poems, this one becomes clearer in regard to structure. Knowing this allows for the reader to look at the poem from a different perspective and this perspective contributes to the response one has to the reading. Knowing also that the mythology of Psyche has been experimented with also gives a new perspective to the reading of the poem, creating a framework from which to examine the writing that Keats has done on the goddess from the point of view of Greek mythological backgrounds (Watkins 88). Through an investigation of the story of Psyche, her role in Greek mythology is relegated more to a fairy tale than to a part of the religious structure of the Greek gods. According to Apuleius and Relihan, Psyche is more an immortal than a goddess, her immortality a gift to Cupid rather than an elevation of her own status (75). Therefore, the story and scene that Keats creates is romantic, but not relevant to the historical position of Psyche. Although, since the Greek meaning of the word Psyche is butterfly, one can apply the idea of transformation to the poem in order to expand upon the worship that he gives to the ‘goddess’. Psyche, according to Apuleius and Relihan, has been defined through Jungian analysis by Erich Neumann as the “development of the feminine”. The idea of the feminine is a transformative concept where “the woman has to be willing to kill within herself what is male, and then to be separate and independent from it, in order ultimately to be reunited with it and so to be whole” (Apuleius and Relihan 76). Applying this knowledge to the reading of the poem puts it into a more informed perspective. The first response to the poem is that it is full of descriptive and powerful language that builds an imagery that provides a landscape of natural beauty for the events of the story to take place. He creates the set by describing it through saying “In deepest grass, beneath the whisp’ring roof/Of leaves of trembled blossoms, where/there ran/A brooklet, scarce espied;” (Keats 139). He creates a world of beauty and romantic love which could only hold the best of what physical love could offer. He describes Psyche and Cupid as they embrace, their lips neither touching nor in the midst of sexual expression, but embraced in an intimacy that comes from being wholly and purely in love. The setting is the key to understanding the vision that Keats has created of his goddess. The first verse of the poem introduces the subject by addressing her, then describing what he has seen to give her such accolades. As discussed, he then lays a scene into the second verse that describes the reason that he is moved to give to Psyche his worship. In the third verse, Keats describes the lack of respect that is shown to Psyche. He transforms her into a goddess at this point, pointing out that she was one of the last to be elevated to immortality. He says “O latest born and lovelies vision far/ Of all Olympus’ faded hierarchy” (Keats 140). He admits that the gods and goddesses of Olympus have faded from power. Still, he wants to see Psyche get the honor that he feels that she deserves, declaring that she is the most beautiful of the Olympian gods. In the fourth verse Keats has taken it upon himself to be the one to promote her worth. However, in a closer reading of the text, it can be seen that it may be that Psyche is not the target of his adoration, but the romantic nature of love that she represents. His beautiful descriptions continue forward creating a vision of the world in which love is a beautiful and harmonious occurrence, supported by nature and developed through the joy that it gives to those who feel it. He does not discuss its pain as is so common to hear whenever a discussion of love is made, but he reveres it with a feeling of exultation to the point that he has personified it through Psyche and made her the goddess of this feeling that he has decided to give a setting. He says “I see, and sing, by my own eyes inspired./ So let me be thy choir, and make a moan/ Upon the midnight hours;” (Keats 140). Keats has seen what he believes to be the expression of true love, pure and beautiful within the setting of flowers and natural wonder. He is inspired by what he believes to have been a vision of Psyche, the now goddess representation of the love that he is defining within this setting. She is transformed into this role that he has defined, her essence a vision of love that he chooses to worship. He admits that he is defining her as a deity and that this is a belief system in which he will rule how it is defined within his mind. He says “Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane/ In some untrodden region of my mind,” (Keats 140). He not only states that he will be the one to worship her, but says that he will find a way to give to her a part of his mind, something that he has control over. Knowing that he wrote subsequent odes after this one that develops his ideas about odes, it is possible that this could be read to mean that he finds poetry to be the type of beauty that he seeks, the love of words something to be worshipped as he decides to become the priest of this worship. In comparing his history with the predictions of this ode, it is possible that he is in worship of words over the worship of a goddess, the beauty of writing the true subject of this poem. The beauty that he may be describing is that which he can see in his mind and translate into the written word. Knowing that he was playing with the ode format and that the mythology of Psyche was transformed within the work, the idea of transformation as the poet evolves is not outside of a possible translation of the work. His final words, “And there shall be for thee all soft delight/ That shadowy thought can win/ A bright torch, and a casement ope at night/ To let the warm Love in!”, describe the place in his mind that he will create and the reward that he will receive (Keats 141). It would not be unreasonable to think that this is a description of what he gets from putting his ideas down on paper. The context of the writing has put it within his control, his own mind the temple from which his worship is experienced. Works Cited Apuleius, and Joel C. Relihan. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2009. Print. Bate, Walter J. John Keats. London: Oxford University Press, 1967. Print. Keats, John. “Ode to Psyche”. Little Masterpieces of English Poetry . Eds. Van Dyke H, and Hardin Craig.. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1905. pp 139-141. Print. Watkins, Daniel E. “History Self and Gender in “Ode to Psyche”. Keats and History. Ed. H. Van, Dyke and Hardin Craig. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press, 1995. pp 88-106. Print. Read More