Consider Keats As a Romantic Poet with Reference to His Odes.

Answer

Consider Keats as a romantic poet with reference to his odes. 

John Keats (1795-1821) was an English Romantic poet and a sensual lover of beauty. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Keats’s poems were not generally well-received by critics during his lifetime. His reputation grew after his death. By the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets.  

Sensuousness: Sensuousness refers to five human senses: taste, touch, hearing, sight, and smell.  John Keats had a strong and deep knowledge of beauty and sensuousness. He used this advantage in his writings. The spirit of his poetry is, 

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

The poetry of Keats is characterized by ‘sensuous’ uses of language. The sensuousness of Keats is a striking characteristic of his poems, including his great odes. 

Celebration of Nature: Keats’s odes reveal his love for nature. This is depicted as a source of solace and inspiration. In “Ode to a Nightingale,” he admires the bird’s song, stating, 

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!

Here, he elevates the nightingale’s song to an immortal, eternal entity, symbolizing nature’s enduring beauty.

Transience and Mortality: The theme of transience permeates Keats’s odes. This reflects the Romantic belief in the fleeting nature of life. In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” he muses, 

Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all 

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

This immortalization of beauty on the urn reflects Keats’s contemplation of life’s transience and the permanence of art.

Emotional Intensity: Keats’s odes are invested with intense emotions. In “Ode to a Nightingale,” he expresses a desire to escape the world’s pain, longing to, 

fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget

What thou among the leaves hast never known.