John Keats

Keats has been praised for the "richness of his language and imagery". Discuss what contribution you find this richness makes the effects of TWO poems.

Keats uses language techniques, imagery and sound devices to help enhance the "richness" in his two odes, "Ode on Indolence" and "Ode on Melancholy". Keats uses simile, pathetic fallacy, metaphor, personification, transferred epithet and oxymoron to enhance the imagery. Keats also uses sibilance and alliteration to help create the mood of both poems.

In "Ode on Indolence" Keats uses simile to describe the figures coming to life in his imagination, "They pass'd, like figures on a marble urn" this creates an ominous atmosphere and the figures seem silent and alluring. This shows that indolence can creep up on you. Keats also uses simile to describe the effect poetry has on his life, "For Poesy - no, - she has not a joy - At least for me,- so sweet as drowsy noons," the readers discover that Keats finds his love and talent of poetry to also be a cause for his pain. This is paradoxical as poetry is his greatest love yet also something that causes him immense pain.

Keats also uses pathetic fallacy in "Ode on Indolence" to create a mysterious and unhappy mood "The morn was cloudy" indicating that Keats was not feeling very joyous or active at the beginning of the day and that things are lurking at the back of his mind. As we discover later in the ode, he had many worries in his mind of three main things, love, ambition and poetry.

Keats uses metaphor in "Ode on Indolence", "My sleep has been embroider'd with dim dreams", to give an image of softness and to give an image of beauty and relaxation which is ultimately what indolence does to someone.

Keats also uses alliteration to enhance the richness in "Ode on Indolence". "Stirring shades, and baffled beams:" showing a hindrance in nature as the light is not completely being shone through. On a personal level showing that Keats is in darkness with glimmers of hope. Indicating he could have avoided indolence but chooses to remain in the tranquility of indolence to avoid the stressfulness of his life for the moment, but understands that he will have to face reality and its problems after his inactivity. "wanted wings", emphasizes the "w" sound which shows readers how much Keats wanted to "follow" his problems and face them. "fever fit" indicates the conflict going through Keats's mind about choosing whether or not to ignore or become indolent and the emphasis of the "f" imitates the movement and shakiness of someone going through a fit.

Keats uses sibilance frequently throughout the poem to create an eerie mood and atmosphere, "seen shades", he is talking about haunting ghosts and shadows which are haunting his mind, giving the first stanza an uneasy mood. Sibilance occurs frequently throughout the ode as the three ghosts haunt him, which states their presence in the reader's minds. In the concluding stanza of the ode, Keats's manages to conquer the "Three Ghosts" in his imagination and the closing line "Into the clouds, and never more return!" show that the ghosts in his mind are gone for the moment.

Keats also uses oxymoron in "Ode on Indolence" "Whom I love more, the more of blame... I knew to be my demon Poesy", which shows readers that something that he loves more than anything (indicated by the most lines used in the stanza than the two other loves of his life) can also be something that causes him much pain and suffering he goes through to write poetry.

Keats uses personification to represent his thoughts and emotions "and Love her name"; love is one of the things that are complicating his mind. All three "Shadows" are personified as women as they are alluring. "Ambition, pale of cheek and ever watchful with fatigued eye;" indicating that ambition can sometimes mean than you have to be cold and emotionless in order to succeed and ambition usually causes immense exhaustion