Text of the Poem | Ode on Melancholy

No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist

Wolf’s-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine;

Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss’d

By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;

Make not your rosary of yew-berries,

Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be

Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl

A partner in your sorrow’s mysteries;

For shade to shade will come too drowsily,

And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.

But when the melancholy fit shall fall

Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,

That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,

And hides the green hill in an April shroud;

Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,

Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,

Or on the wealth of globed peonies;

Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows,

Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave,

And feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes.

She dwells with Beauty—Beauty that must die;

And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips

Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,

Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips:

Ay, in the very temple of Delight

Veil’d Melancholy has her sovran shrine,

Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue

Can burst Joy’s grape against his palate fine;

His soul shalt taste the sadness of her might,

And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

Ode on Melancholy Analysis | John Keats

John Keats is famous for writing poetry for the sake of poetry. One of the best characteristics of his
poetry is that he does not write books to give any moral lesson to human beings; rather he is a
supporter of the famous rule “art for art’s sake”. John Keats is a pure romantic poet as obvious from
the critical analysis of his famous poem Ode on Melancholy as well as from the critical appreciation
of Ode to Nightingale. As the name suggests there is a discussion about sadness in this ode. The poet
tells his readers what to do and what not to do in order to overpower sadness despite the fact that
he himself remained sad his whole life. Ultimately, he died at a very young age due to tuberculosis.

John Keats is of the view that happiness and sadness run side by side. In fact, he believes that
happiness is an occasional episode in a general drama of pain. It is not wrong to say that every
romantic poet believed so. When a poet is unable to face realistic life, he escapes to the world of
imagination so as to find peace and harmony. In this poem, the poet suggests something to his
readers though there is subjectivity in it.

Stanza I

It starts with the words “no, no”. It means that the poet stops and directs not to do something. The
very next word is its explanation; the poet says do not go to “Lethe”. It is obvious from the analysis
of the autobiography of John Keats that he is very much passionate about learning and questing
Greek myths as evident from Ode on Melancholy. Lethe is one of the five underworld rivers in Greek
myths. It is the river of forgetfulness. The ode is on melancholy and the poet does not like the idea of
forgetting the sad and intense incidents; thus, it means that forgetting a thing is not a good practice
to conquer melancholy. One should not try to forget everything to soothe himself.

It is the beauty of life that somewhere there are good moments whereas sometimes bad incidents
happen in life. Escapism also works for those who cannot do their best in reality. Real-world is full of
pain and sadness but it is the only thing that makes happiness enjoyable. Remembering harsh days
in happy days of life gives a person satisfaction; hence, there are many reasons why John Keats
suggests not drinking the water from River Lethe to forget everything.

Further, committing suicide and ending life is also not a considerable option for human beings.
“Wolf’s-bane” is the name of a poisonous plant. It is said that if the plant is eaten, it slows down the
heartbeat, which steadily pushes a person to death. In this way, the poet is not in favour of ending
the life to forget the sadness.

In the next lines, the poet again refers to the myth. Analysis of ancient myths shows that
“Proserpine” is the goddess of wine in the underworld to whom John Keats refers in Ode on
Melancholy. In many other Odes, he seems obsessed with wine. He drinks wine, which helps him in
escaping from reality; however, he is not in favour of drinking it when someone feels isolated from
the world or faces gloomy days.
He further advocates the principle of not indulging in such activities which increases sadness. In
short, negative thinking always saddens the sufferer. John Keats is the most sensitive poet. It is,
therefore, he is the most escapist; hence, becomes the most romantic poet. It seems that he has a
good experience to face the harshness of life. His autobiography is obvious that he tried all the
aforementioned options but none of them was helpful in curing his sorrows. Thus, he advises
avoiding those methods as they are not helpful at all.

Critical analysis of the first stanza of Ode on Melancholy shows that there is a portrayal of the theme
of melancholy. The approach of the poet is not negative but positive. It appears that he has a strong
belief that everyone has to go through sadness at least once in life. As a result, he promotes
positivity. There are also allusions to Greek myths. Some precautionary measures are there that a
person can take but the poet does not mention them in the first stanza. He just stops taking some
common steps that everyone takes when he becomes sad. In short, the first stanza suggests the
things that a person should not try when he feels dejection.

Stanza II of Ode to Melancholy Analysis

The poet then talks about those things that a person may do at the time of bad days in life. In the
first four lines of this stanza, the poet defines the impact of melancholy on the mind of a sufferer. He
believes that it strikes a person like a thunderstorm due to which he cries like the sky cries after
thunderstorms. The poet uses a simile to make the effect clear. John Keats often uses the technique
of comparing things to clear the mindset of his readers. The poet uses “green hill in an April shroud”
as a symbol. Happiness increases the life of a person and also boosts creativity but melancholy
barrens the land. It also affects the imagination.

A person should embrace melancholy as it is, says the poet. He uses images such as “morning rose”,
“rainbow” and “globed peonies” flowers. In deep meanings, the poet gives a message that
everything is not permanent; roses are temporary, rainbows do not remain the whole day in the sky
and flowers do not blossom all the time; yet they are beautiful. It is part of nature. Similarly,
melancholy does not remain all the time with everyone. Analysis of these lines of Ode to Melancholy
in simple words is that the time passes due to which things are temporary. It is a bounty that the
time does not remain the same. Thus, one suggestion that the poet gives to overcome melancholy is
to embrace it.

In the last two lines, the poet talks about love life. There may be certain reasons for melancholy, one
of which is when a lover becomes angry. The poet gives a solution to this problem while saying that
the beloved should see in the eyes of the lover and should express the anger as soon as possible. It is
also another way to get rid of melancholy.

Stanza two of the poem is highly philosophical. The poet compels us to believe that beauty is
temporary in the middle three lines, he indirectly mentions this fact. Thus, there is an indirect way to
say that beauty is not everlasting.

Stanza-III

The stanza starts with personification. The poet uses the word she for melancholy. “She
[melancholy] dwells with beauty”. It is perhaps the most quoted line of John Keats. Where there is
beauty there is melancholy. In the previous stanza, the poet says that beauty is temporary but he is
also of the view that beauty lives with melancholy. He again stresses the mortality of beauty.
“Beauty that must die” means that the beauty is not everlasting; however, he also wants to illustrate
that the melancholy, in the same way, is also not immortal; hence, people should not take it for
granted.

In this part of the poem, the poet illustrates the joy that one can get from melancholy if one tries to
get it. Joy and beauty are there with it. One who tastes joy must taste it too. If there is no
melancholy, one cannot realise the bounty of happiness. It is in human nature that they understand
things through the method of comparison. For instance, if there is no darkness in the world, one
could not understand the importance of life. It is also the case with joy and sadness. Sadness is the
only reason why everyone realises the importance of joy in life.

John Keats gives practical and real-life examples in this part of the poem. The poet has only one
solution to melancholy. He suggests that one must embrace it. It will not live with a person forever
but fades day by day. Thus, instead of going away from it or committing suicide, one should accept it
as a part of life.

In addition, if beauty remains forever, there is no joy in seeing it. John Keats in many odes talks
about the immortality of art and beauty. Critical appreciation of Ode to Nightingale shows that the
poet elaborates on the mortality of human life and compares it with the immortality of the song of
the bird as he does an analysis of beauty in Ode to Melancholy.

Suffice to say that the poet gives a practical solution to deal with melancholy. He also supports his
arguments with examples. The ode contains three stanzas. It follows the rhyming scheme of
ABABCDEDCE.

Introduction to the Poem:

Ode on melancholy was composed and 1819 along with other five great odes of John Keats, a British-
English romantic poet. The previous odes were about the nightingale, autumn, Grecian Urn, and
goddess psyche. In this ode, Keats addresses the sadness, mood, and dark thoughts of human
beings.

Summary of Ode on Melancholy:

The poem started with the lines in which Keats abandon to go towards the Lethe River even if you
are sad. The Poisonous water of the Lethe River will not give you satisfaction even after erasing your
memory. It would help if you did not pluck Wolf’s bane to making poisonous wine to reduce your
pain. Your forehead might become pale of sickness and sadness but don’t allow the nightshade to
overcome your body. Even if the wine of the underworld queen is looking attractive and you want to
drink it, don’t allow yourself to show your weakness that you are miserable and depressed.

Don’t let the yew-berries surround your neck, and let yourself die like a beetle and death moth even
if you are weak. These death symbols might look like freedom from this world’s endless pain, but
this is not the reality. Your sadness will not end if you join the company of owl. Instead, it will make
you more miserable. These things can only draw more shadows on you. John Keats’ ode on
melancholy surrounds the thoughts of miseries and that you will drown your soul in the sorrows of
this world only.
Whenever you feel sorrow or emotional pain like a thunderstorm that makes flowers drowned with
the tears of the weeping sky, try to lower your burden of grief with the morning rose, freshen your
thoughts, and look at the rainbow that spread in the sky. If your beloved one is angry with you, hold
her rose like smooth and soft hands and let her be furious. Just look at her deep ocean-like eyes as
melancholy is a part of beauty. If her words hurt you, her eyes will give you comfort.

Nothing lasts forever; everything like beauty, sorrow, happiness has to end. These things are always
ready to say goodbye as melancholy is a part of the joy, and happiness is incomplete. Indeed
melancholy is a part of life’s good things like a queen in the temple but can only be seen with those
eyes which can see the absolute joy. Melancholy never forgets those who taste its low power.

Various Themes in Ode on Melancholy:

Awareness of reaching extreme position:

When you are sad, don’t think about more sorrows and ending your life by drinking water of Lethe
River or with Wolf’s bane. By sitting in the company of nightshade, you cannot compensate yourself
or can’t satisfy your sorrow; it can only reach its extreme position. The beetle death moth, and
downy owl are just there to increase your miseries. These things might look the same as just you are
feeling, but they cannot satisfy your soul. Do not encourage your sorrows to take over your faith.

Power of nature:

Miseries, sorrows, and pain are part of life; you should know how to deal with them. Keats ode to
melancholy suggests some ideas to enjoy the moments when you get hit by the clouds of
melancholy. He thinks that sitting in the company of nature, the rainbow, morning rose, and globed
peonies can help you recover. Natural beauty got the power to give back your energy when you are
down or feel alone.

Beauty must die:

Nothing is forever, humans are mortal, and they should accept this reality as soon as possible. Death
is so close to us, and we are not aware of that. Enjoy this moment even if you are in pain, sit in
silence to observe the natural beauty which can last forever. Melancholy does not mean you should
always mourn and cry over the end of your life. Instead, try to look at the positive side; you’ve got
time and celebrate your presence. When you become aware of your mortality, you will value every
moment of your life.

Mourning heart of beloved one:

When your beloved one is angry, Keats suggests that you should hold her hand and look into her
eyes. It would help if you allowed her to express her anger and, in the meantime, look into her deep
ocean-like eyes. Satisfy the mourning heart of your beloved one.

Literary Devices used in Ode on Melancholy:

Symbolism in Ode on Melancholy:

The word, which is different from its literal meanings, is termed symbolism. In Ode on Melancholy,
wolf’s bane, Lethe River water, the ruby grape of Proserpine are symbolized as death. Rainbow,
globed peonies, morning flowers are represented as joy which can bring you back towards life after
experiencing sorrows and miseries.

Personification in the Poem:

When a non-living thing is given the characteristics of a human being, it is referred to as

personification. The nightshade is shown the human quality of forehead kiss in the three and 4th
lines of the first stanza. In the 26th line, for melancholy, personification is also used.

Use of Assonance:

Assonance means the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example:

1. Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose. ( /o/ vowel sound in this line is representing
assonance)
2. Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl (/O/ vowel sound is showing assonance) Or on
the rainbow of the salt sand-wave ( /a/ vowel sound)

Use of Consonance:

Consonance means the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example:

1. His soul shalt taste the sadness of her might. (/t/ consonant sound is representing
consonance in this line of ode on melancholy)
2. Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue (/s/ sound is showing consonance)