Ode to a Nightingale

Erin Conley
Mrs. Jernigan
AP English Lit
8 March 2011
Ode to a Nightingale
In “Ode to a Nightingale,” author John Keats laments the futile desires of his life and how he envies the nightingale's freedom from this trap.
Keats is hopeless in the world, but the nightingale brings a new reality into his sight. He begins with his description of his heartache. The world is a harsh place and he is showing the reader his personal pain. The nightingale, though, begins to sing and he is delighted with the beauty of nature despite what he is going through. He tries to cope with it with drugs and alcohol, but these do not satisfy. The pleasures of the world seem only to intensify the pain. He then tries to fade away from the world, because nothing ever lasts, so he feels that life is pointless. He does not want to partake of the pain. He says that everyone worries about life, when, in reality they should not because everyone is going to die. He seems hopeless in his evaluation of his life, but the nightingale brings him some joy. The song of the bird is so beautiful and he wants it to be free. He feels that maybe poetry will set him free, but he is not sure because he is unable to fully experience the pleasures of the world around him. He then contemplates death as a peaceful and desirable alternative to his life. The nightingale then flies away and he awakens from this dream-state.
The author uses dramatic symbols to describe the follies of the earth and how they bring us no hope through the pain. He shows that the transcendent beauty of nature through the nightingale's song. His dramatic flow of thoughts shows the reader that he believes the truth and joy of life is found in a connection with nature and emotions.