Analysis of John Keats’ “On the Sonnet” Essay

In John Keats On the Sonnet, he urges fellow poets to non let their poetic genius, their M drop die, because it is confined to the parameters of then-current Petrarchan and Shakespearian praise forms. while he follows neither form, (thus requiring further analysis to determine the logic of his poem), his use of symbolism makes his message more than clear.He starts the poem with an allusion to Andromeda, who, according to Greek myth, was chained to a rock so that she would be devoured by a sea monster (Norton 799). He uses this image to represent the fate of poetry, if it follows the unsatisfactory form of either Petrarchan or Shakespearean sonnets. This image is portrayed in the first three lines, If by dull rhymes our English must be chained, /And like Andromeda, the sonnet sweet /Fettered, in spite of pain and loveliness, which hind end be translated as If our poetry must be confined by the current sonnet forms, and face the fate of Andromeda, despite our careful guardianship then.The second clause of the thought introduced in lines one through with(predicate) three, the implied then, is fix in lines four-spot through nine. Keats writes, Let us find, if we must be constrained, /Sandals more interwoven and complete /To fit the naked foot of poetry /Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress /Of every consort, and chance what may be gained /By ear industrious, and attention meet. According to the footer provided in Norton, Poesy refers to a need voiced in a letter, in which Keats wrote out this poem and then discussed his impatience with the traditional Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms I have been endeavoring to discover a better sonnet stanza than we have.The word lyre can mean harp, moreover can also be a symbol for lyric poetry, and chord can mean a string of a musical instrument, such as a harp, but can also refer to poetry, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. With this in mind, lines four through nine can be interpreted to m ean, if we must be chained like this, then lets find intricately woven sandals, (symbolic of new, undiscovered sonnet forms Keats need), to fulfill my need lets inspect the harp (symbolic of lyric poetry), and listen to every chord (continuing the metaphor of theharp, chords are symbolic of lines within lyric poetry), and lets see what we can accomplish through careful listening and attention.Finally, in the last five lines of the sonnet, Keats directly addresses his fellow poets as misers, which has a forficate meaning. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, misers means poets, but it also means ugly people. This intentional word pun expresses Keats view that poets are currently unhappy, because of the inadequateness of the current sonnet forms. In lines ten through fourteen, he writes, Misers of goodish and syllable, no less /Than Midas of his coinage, let us be /Jealous of bushed(p) leaves in the true laurel-wreath cr admit /So, if we may not let the meditate be free, /She go out be bound with garlands of her own. Midas was a king who had the power to term of enlistment everything that he touched into gold. According to Norton, jealous meant suspiciously watchful.Also, in compose to the bay-wreath crown, according to the sixth footnote, The bay tree was sacred to Apollo, god of poetry, and bay wreaths came to symbolize true poetic achievement. The withering of the bay tree is sometimes considered an omen of terminal. Keats continued the thought, implying that when the leaves of the bay-wreath crown, which represents true poetic achievement, begin to die, they are a warning of death to that very piece of poetry. Finally Muse refers to a poets inspiration, which may be killed once it is bound by the dying leaves (garland) of the bay-wreath crown, which is accomplished by not using ones Muse to its fullest creative potential. These lines can thus be translated as Fellow miserable/ frustrated poets, lets be suspiciously watchful of omens of dea th to our poetry if we do not let our inspiration run free, it will die too.John Keats, obviously disillusioned by the available forms through which to write poetry, expresses his dissatisfaction in his sonnet, On the Sonnet. Because he uses an ambiguous, unidentifiable sonnet form, or else of the Shakespearean or the Petrarchan sonnet forms, the integrity of his argument is not undermined. In this way, not only does he express his hatred for the current sonnet forms, but refuses to use them as he communicates this frustration in his own sonnet.