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    Lefl 113

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    Aman Yadav
    John Keats was a British Romantic poet who decided to devote himself wholly to poetry despite being trained as a surgeon. His gift was perceiving the world through language. The excerpt is from his poem "Endymion" based on a Greek legend where the shepherd Endymion falls in love with the Moon Goddess. The poem describes things of beauty like the sun, moon, trees, daffodils and clear streams that provide joy, health and sweet dreams, binding us to the earth despite suffering.

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    Lefl 113

    Uploaded by

    Aman Yadav
    26 views2 pages
    John Keats was a British Romantic poet who decided to devote himself wholly to poetry despite being trained as a surgeon. His gift was perceiving the world through language. The excerpt is from his poem "Endymion" based on a Greek legend where the shepherd Endymion falls in love with the Moon Goddess. The poem describes things of beauty like the sun, moon, trees, daffodils and clear streams that provide joy, health and sweet dreams, binding us to the earth despite suffering.

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    John Keats was a British Romantic poet who decided to devote himself wholly to poetry despite being trained as a surgeon. His gift was perceiving the world through language. The excerpt is from his poem "Endymion" based on a Greek legend where the shepherd Endymion falls in love with the Moon Goddess. The poem describes things of beauty like the sun, moon, trees, daffodils and clear streams that provide joy, health and sweet dreams, binding us to the earth despite suffering.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    26 views2 pages

    Lefl 113

    Uploaded by

    Aman Yadav
    John Keats was a British Romantic poet who decided to devote himself wholly to poetry despite being trained as a surgeon. His gift was perceiving the world through language. The excerpt is from his poem "Endymion" based on a Greek legend where the shepherd Endymion falls in love with the Moon Goddess. The poem describes things of beauty like the sun, moon, trees, daffodils and clear streams that provide joy, health and sweet dreams, binding us to the earth despite suffering.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    3 A Thing of Beauty

    About the poet


    John Keats (1795-1821) was a British Romantic poet.
    Although trained to be a surgeon, Keats decided to
    devote himself wholly to poetry. Keats’ secret, his power
    to sway and delight the readers, lies primarily in his
    gift for perceiving the world and living his moods and
    aspirations in terms of language. The following is an
    excerpt from his poem ‘Endymion; A Poetic Romance’.
    The poem is based on a Greek legend, in which
    Endymion, a beautiful young shepherd and poet who
    lived on Mount Latmos, had a vision of Cynthia, the
    Moon Goddess. The enchanted youth resolved to seek
    her out and so wandered away through the forest and
    down under the sea.

    Before you read


    What pleasure does a beautiful thing give us? Are beautiful
    things worth treasuring?

    A thing of beauty is a joy forever


    Its loveliness increases, it will never
    Pass into nothingness; but will keep
    A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
    Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
    Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
    A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
    Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
    Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
    Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
    Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
    Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
    From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
    Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
    A Thing of Beauty/95

    Rationalised 2023-24
    For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
    With the green world they live in; and clear rills
    That for themselves a cooling covert make
    ‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
    Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
    And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
    We have imagined for the mighty dead;
    All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
    An endless fountain of immortal drink,
    Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

    rills : small streams


    brake : a thick mass of ferns

    Think it out
    1. List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem.
    2. List the things that cause suffering and pain.
    3. What does the line, ‘Therefore are we wreathing a flowery band
    to bind us to earth’ suggest to you?
    4. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and
    sufferings?
    5. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead’?
    6. Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do
    they make a lasting impression on us?
    7. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty
    of the earth?

    Notice the consistency in rhyme scheme and line length. Also


    notice the balance in each sentence of the poem, as in,
    Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
    Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
    Made for our searching: yes in spite of all,

    96/ Flamingo

    Rationalised 2023-24

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