The Poetry of John Keats: Metaphysical Elements (Hardbound - 2012)

John Keats was one of the main figures of the second generation of romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. He belonged to a literary movement called romanticism. Romantic poets, because of their theories of literature and life, were drawn to lyric poetry and developed a new form of ode, often called the romantic meditative ode.

The book brings to light the important aspects of Keats’s poetry. Romanticism has been the focus of attention in most of the studies and books on Keats. It is the most important aspect of his poetry and has been discussed in an exclusive chapter. The term ‘metaphysical’, first used by John Dryden in the context of poetry has been explained in detail. The book studies Keats from the point of metaphysics, which is found woven in the text of his poems like ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, ‘Hyperian’ and ‘Endymion’. His famous lines “Beauty is truth, and truth beauty”, are a powerful statement to convey the message that he was not talking about physical beauty but heavenly beauty when it is associated with truth, because truth is the ultimate reality. Keats was dealing with the metaphysical when he was relating beauty with truth.

Keats’s letters, with their keen intellectual questioning and deep concern with moral and artistic problems provide an insight into his writing in general. The metaphysical traits of Keats’s life as gleaned from his letters have been discussed. The conclusion provides a synthesis of all the aspects of his poetry as dealt with in the chapters.

The book will be useful for the students and teachers of English literature, particularly poetry, and researchers in these fields. To those who wish to know about the romantic and metaphysical elements in Keats’s poems, the book will provide for a richly rewarding reading.

About the AuthorVishwanath Khali, M.A. (English), M. Phil., D.Phil., worked as Lecturer in English in Govt Degree College Karnprayag (Uttarakhand) for twenty years. He has written numerous articles on English literature and presented papers in literary conferences and seminars. He has supervised dissertations of M.A. (English) final year students. Presently he is working as Associate Professor and Head Deptt. of English, Govt P.G. College Gopeshwar (Uttarakhand).