Ode To A Nightingale Analysis - Literary Devices and Poetic Devices

Ode to a Nightingale Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices https://literarydevices.
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Literary Devices
Definition and Examples of Literary Terms
Ode to a Nightingale
Ode to a Nightingale
by John Keats
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
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That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
1 of 25 11/16/2022, 12:36 AM
Ode to a Nightingale Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices https://literarydevices.net/ode-to-a-nightingale/
In some melodious plot

Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been

Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget

What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,

Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
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Already with thee! tender is the night,
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And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
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Cluster’d around by all her starry Fays;

But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,

Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves;
And mid-May’s eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time

I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—
To thy high requiem become a sod.
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!

No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
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Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
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Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,

She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell

To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now ‘tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?
Summary of Ode to a Nightingale
• Popularity: Written by John Keats, a popular romantic poet, “Ode to Nightingale

“is a phenomenal poem that relates life’s sufferings to the briefness of the bird’s
song. It was first published in 1819. The poem explores the wonder of life and
death. It comprises the experience of the poet, his miseries and poetic
imagination. Its popularity lies in the fact that it represents things related to life,
art, literature, and nature and seeks a common relationship among them.
• As a Representative of life and Death: The poem explores two main issues:
the first is the connection betweenpotential
agony second
and joyincome
and the second
with is thelike…
companies
connection between life and death. The poet very artistically draws a comparison
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between natural and imaginative world, the world of a nightingale. Saddened, he
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tries to seek comfort and harmony in his imaginative world, but the pull of his
consciousness brings him back to confront the heart-wrenching realities of life.
Ultimately, he realizes that only death can offer a permanent escape from pain.
Disturbed by the misfortune of his life, he wants the finest wine and his poetic
imagination to throw away the horrific realities of life. His desire to be drunk or
unconscious shows that he does not to remember his hardships and sufferings.
However, what enchants the reader is his flight of imagination that temporarily
takes him away from the odds of life.
• Major Themes: Death, immortality, mortality and poetic imaginations are some of
the major themes of this ode. Keats says that death is an unavoidable
phenomenon. He paints it in both negative and positive ways. On the one hand,
its presence sucks the human spirit, while on the other hand, it offers the realm of
free eternity. The poet also presents the life and melodious song of the nightingale
in juxtaposition. To him, life is mortal, but the song of the nightingale is immortal. It
has been a source of enjoyment for centuries and will stay so even after his
demise. Though he keeps himself engaged in the beautiful and charming world of
imaginations, he cannot stay there for good. Therefore, he accepts that
imagination is just a short source of peace.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “Ode to Nightingale”

literary devices are tools used by writers and poets to convey emotions, ideas, and
beliefs. With the help of these devices, they make their texts appealing to the reader.
Keats has also used some literary devices in this poem to make it unique and
appealing. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been
given below.
1. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line

such as the sound of /th/ in “That potential
thou, light-winged Dryad
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with the trees”.like…
2. Simile: A simile is a figure of speech used to compare something with something
Readstanza,
else to make its meaning clear. Keats has used simile in the second Next Story
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“Forlorn! the very word is like a bell.” Here the poet is comparing forlorn to a bell.
3. Enjambment: Enjambment refers to the continuation of a sentence without a
pause after the end of a line in a couplet or stanza. For example:
“My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains.”
1. Imagery: The use of imagery makes the readers visualize the writer’s feelings,
emotions or ideas. Keats has used images to present a clear and vivid picture of
his miserable plight such as, “though of hemlock I had drunk,”, “Past the near
meadows,”, “Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves.”
2. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of same vowel sounds in the same lines
of poetry such as the sound of /o/ in “In some melodious plot” and /i/ sound in
“The voice I hear this passing night was heard.”
3. Metaphor: There are two metaphors in this poem. The first one is used in line
eleven, “for a beaker full of the warm south”. Here he compares liquid with the
southern country weather.
4. Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to non-human things.
Keats has used personification inBorn between 1956 “where
line twenty-nine, to 1996?beauty
You cancannot
earn a keep her
lustrous eyes” as if the beauty is human and can see. The second example is in
line thirty-six, “The Queen moon is on her throne.” Read Next Story
5. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition initial words of sentences in sequence or in
6 of 25 11/16/2022, 12:36 AM
the whole stanza or even the poem. Keats has repeated the word “where” in the
following lines to emphasize the existence of his imaginative world. For example:
“Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,

Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes.”
6. Apostrophe: An apostrophe is a device used to call somebody from afar. The poet
has used this device in line sixty-one, “Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird.”
The literary analysis shows that this poem successfully describes Keat’s deep
meditations about death under cover of these literary devices.
Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Ode to Nightingale”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the
analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
1. Stanza: Stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are eight stanzas in this
poem with ten lines in each stanza.
2. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABABCDECDE throughout the poem with
iambic pentameter.
3. End Rhyme: End Rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious such as in the
first stanza the rhyming words are, “pains”, “drains”, “drunk”, “sunk.”
4. Internal Rhyme: Internal Rhyme potential
is rhymesecond
withinincome
a line such as in the line,
with companies like…“To toll
me back from thee to my sole self” two words “me” and “thee” rhyme with each
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other.
7 of 25 11/16/2022, 12:36 AM
5. Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter consisting of five iambs. The poem

comprises iambic pentameter such as, “My Heart aches, and a drowsy
numbness pains.”
Quotes to be Used
These lines can be used in a speech when discussing the power and pull of the
imaginative world that offers a peaceful escape from the heavy odds of life.
“O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been

Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!”
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20. Death, Be Not Proud
21. Dulce et Decorum Est
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23. Little Bo-Peep
24. A Poison Tree
25. My Shadow
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28. My Papa’s Waltz
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54. Out, Out—
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58. The Cremation of Sam McGee
59. John Henry
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61. The Mower
62. Ballad of Birmingham
63. Digging
64. I Hear America Singing
65. Sailing to Byzantium
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67. Song of the Open Road
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74. Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now
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77. On My First Son
78. The Man He Killed
79. Verses upon the Burning of Our House
80. The Song of Wandering Aengus
81. The Flower
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83. Frost at Midnight
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View Full List of Literary Devices
Ad Hominem Adage
Allegory Alliteration
Allusion Ambiguity
Anachronism Anagram
Analogy Anapest
Anaphora Anecdote
Antagonist Antecedent
Antimetabole Antithesis
Aphorism Aposiopesis
Apostrophe Archaism
Archetype Argument
Assonance Biography
Cacophony Cadence
Caricature Catharsis
Characterization Cliché
Climax Colloquialism
Comparison Conflict
Connotation Consonance
Denotation Deus Ex Machina
Dialect Dialogue
Diction Didacticism
Discourse Doppelganger
Double Entendre Ellipsis
Epiphany Epitaph
Essay Ethos
Eulogy Euphemism
Evidence Exposition
Fable Fallacy
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Foreword
Genre Haiku
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Half Rhyme Homage
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Hubris Hyperbaton
Hyperbole Idiom
Imagery Induction
Inference Innuendo
Internal Rhyme Irony
Jargon Juxtaposition
Limerick Line Break
Logos Meiosis
Memoir Metaphor
Meter Montage
Mood Motif
Motto Narrative
Nemesis Non Sequitur
Ode Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron Palindrome
Parable Paradox
Parallelism Parataxis
Parody Pathetic Fallacy
Pathos Pentameter
Persona Personification
Plot Plot Twist
Poem Poetic Justice
Point of View Portmanteau
Propaganda Prose
Protagonist Pun
Red Herring Repetition
Rhetoric Rhyme
Rhythm Sarcasm
Satire Simile
Soliloquy Sonnet
Style Subtext1956 to 1996? You can earn a
Born between
Superlative Syllogism
Symbolism Synecdoche
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Synesthesia Synonym
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Syntax Tautology
Theme Thesis
Tone Tragedy
Tragicomedy Tragic Flaw
Transition Utopia
Verisimilitude
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Ode to a Nightingale Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices https://literarydevices.

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

In some melodious plot

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been

Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget

Away! away! for I will fly to thee,

Cluster’d around by all her starry Fays;

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,

Darkling I listen; and, for many a time

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!

Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell

Summary of Ode to a Nightingale

• Popularity: Written by John Keats, a popular romantic poet, “Ode to Nightingale

Analysis of Literary Devices in “Ode to Nightingale”

1. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line

“My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,

5. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition initial words of sentences in sequence or in

“Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Ode to Nightingale”

5. Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter consisting of five iambs. The poem

“O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been

Born between 1956 to 1996? You can earn a

Read Next Story

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