Ode on Melancholy - John Keats

Ode on Melancholy - John Keats

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. 

Context

Melancholy has a long cultural history:

• In Medieval medicine it was considered a pathological condition caused by too much black bile in the body which led to bad temper, motiveless anger, a dark, brooding disposition and unsociability
• In the Renaissance, melancholy became a fashionable, carefully curated sadness akin to pensiveness and sensitivity that was linked to creativity

Among Keats' favourite reading in 1819 was Robert Burton's 'anatomy of melancholy' in which he investigated different causes and cures of melancholy, a link to Keats' experience in medicine.

Burton treated melancholy as something to be avoided, and in his ode Keats considers various remedies for it; but he also argues that it is inseparable from pleasure, as human life is essentially changeable and all things are transient.

Analysis

Stanza 1

Keats omitted an original first stanza from this poem, giving the poem an abrupt opening to convey how quickly melancholy can strike. The speaker lists dangerous methods for attempting to get rid of melancholy, from drowning in forgetfulness in the 'Lethe' to poisonous 'wolfs-bane' and 'nightshade'. These deadening and suicidal remedies remove us from the true active state of our soul that Keats calls 'the wakeful anguish of the soul'.

'no, no, go not to Lethe'
the assonance created in this first line could evoke the moaning and suffering linked to melancholy, it also draws the first line out and emphasises the speaker's strong views on the subject.

'neither twist / wolf's bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine'
interesting use of poisonous wine, evokes a sense of temptation and indulgence. Apart from the Lethe which is the Greek river of forgetfulness, all the dangerous remedies come from nature, perhaps showing the natural origin of all human emotions. It could also show the dangerous, ominous side of nature.

'nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd / by nightshade'
the enjambment here initially makes the reader think he is saying not to be kissed at all, yet 'by nightshade' personifies the plant and gives a duality to even the most loving and adoring of human actions.

A rosary

River Lethe

A death-moth

The use of listing creates a dizzying array of remedies, perhaps suggesting the speaker them self considered them as possibilities - the tone of the poem seems that of advice given to a friend.

**in his 20s when this was written, Keats did not see himself as a philosopher, he had 'he who's name was writ in water' on his gravestone.

'Rosary of yew berries' invites religious connotations, to juxtapose suicide against a religious emblem could be a criticism of how religion ultimately does not help those in need and allows them to justify their death in the name of Christ.

'for shade to shade will come too easily' shows that emotions will begin to blur together without embracing the negative aspects of life

'and drown the wakeful anguish of your soul' suggests an active anger in contrast to the way 'shade to shade will come too drowsily', the speaker warns people not to surrender to the pull of the easy way out.

The speaker warns people not to collaborate with insects and animals such as the 'downy owl' and 'death-moth' and let them become your 'mournful psyche'. Speaker wants addressee to remain in control of their own body.

Stanza 2

In the second stanza Keats recommends, instead, that the reader embrace melancholy, and ‘glut thy sorrow’ by contemplating things of beauty: a morning rose, a cluster of peonies, the play of sunlight on the seashore, or the abundant passion of a lover.

It could be said that the first line of the second stanza acts as a Volta characterised by the conjunction 'but', a turning point in which the speaker reveals the true way to cope with melancholy.

'sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud'
Simile personifies the cloud, suggests that melancholy originates from 'heaven', gives it a divine purpose and symbolism. A weeping cloud might show how all facets of life experience melancholy, that it is a fundamental part of life. Additionally, the fact that melancholy comes from the sky, from the 'weeping cloud' implies a kind of cycle.

'droop headed flowers 'april shroud' juxtaposition of life with images of death and dying, shows the duality of nature and inevitable death within all living things

'glut thy sorrow on a morning rose' Instead of wallowing in 'wakeful anguish', you should embrace melancholy by overwhelming yourself with natural beauty such as a 'salt sand-wave' or 'globed peonies'.

The repetition of 'or' implies the great choice that nature provides for us.

'and feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes' repetition of the -ee sound suggests the extended pleasure one can get from just appreciating what they have, almost creates a hypnotic chant

There is only one example in caesura in the second stanza, linking to the overwhelming and constant supply of joy nature can provide.

Stanza 3

In the final stanza melancholy is joined by personifications of those human emotions with which melancholy is inextricably linked: Beauty, that inevitably will fade and die. It is precisely the fact that joy will come to an end that makes the experience of joy such a ravishing one; the fact that beauty dies makes the experience of beauty sharper and more thrilling. The key, he writes, is to see the kernel of sadness that lies at the heart of all pleasure—to “burst joy’s grape” and gain admission to the inner temple of melancholy. 

personification of 'beauty', 'joy' and 'pleasure' along with their capitalisation gives them the same character as the addressee's 'mistress' in the previous stanza, their limited presence of the same 'rich anger'.

'aching pleasure' this oxymoron sums up the entire tone of the poem, the simultaneous existence of melancholy and happiness side by side.

'in the very temple of delight / veil'd melancholy has her sovran shrine' religious parallel to temples and shrines gives melancholy a divine status. Shrine implies it is to be worshipped and respected, which is what the speaker intends to do. 

'can burst joy's grape against his palate fine' Grapes symbolise the blood of Christ and the wine taken during the service of Holy Communion, by drinking Christ's blood you accept his gift of life but it is tainted by the fact he died for it.

'his soul shall taste the sadness of her might' - by personifying basically everything from emotions, plants and the 'soul', Keats creates a living, breathing image showing the mortality of emotions themselves and their fleeting nature.

'and be among her cloudy trophies hung' - could be interpreted as positive (trophies suggest achievement and a sense of longevity) or negative (life is futile as you will just end up as another victim of melancholy and death)

'cloudy trophies' suggests a kind of illusion and mystery and definitely a link to heaven and the skies.

https://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides8/Melancholy.html

https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/an-introduction-to-ode-on-melancholy
https://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/keats/section5/