"Ode on Melancholy" : Summary

Summary

Main Message of the Poem: “Ode to Melancholy” is a remarkable poem by the British romantic poet John Keats. It is one of Keats’s famous 5 Odes. It was published in 1820. This poem talks about how to walk with depression. According to the poet, one should not be broken during grief but should build solidarity with that grief.

What not to do in Times of Sorrow: In the first stanza, the poet says what not to do in times of sorrow. A sufferer can never drink the water of the river Lethe (river of forgetfulness) even if afflicted with sorrow. People forget everything when they drink the water of the Lethe River. One cannot commit suicide or think about death even after suffering too much, for it will make the soul’s agony drowsy. So, the sufferer must be aware of the depth of his grief.

What can be done in Times of Grief: What can be done by a sufferer is discussed in the second stanza by the poet. If one suffers excessively, he should suppress the suffering with natural beauty. A depressed person can cheer himself up by looking at roses or rainbows. If someone’s Beloved is angry with him, he holds Beloved’s soft hands and asks him to look into his eyes.

Relation of Pain and Pleasure: In the third stanza, the poet says that pain and pleasure are complementary. Beauty will end one day, and happiness is fleeting, just as a flower leaves only poison after a bee eats honey, so after enjoyment, only sadness remains. So we should enjoy happiness and sadness together. True happiness cannot be experienced without suffering.