John Keats's 1819 odes

In 1819, John Keats composed six odes, which are among his most famous and well-regarded poems. Keats wrote the first five poems, "Ode on a Grecian Urn", "Ode on Indolence", "Ode on Melancholy", "Ode to a Nightingale", and "Ode to Psyche" in quick succession during the spring, and he composed "To Autumn" in September. While the exact order in which Keats composed the poems is unknown, some critics contend that they form a thematic whole if arranged in sequence. As a whole, the odes represent Keats's attempt to create a new type of short lyrical poem, which influenced later generations.

Early in 1819, Keats left his poorly paid position as dresser (or assistant house surgeon) at Guy's Hospital, Southwark, London to completely devote himself to a career in poetry. In the past, he had relied on his brother George for financial assistance from time to time, but now, when his brother appealed to him for the same aid, the cash-strapped poet was unable to help and was overwhelmed with guilt and despair. He decided to forsake the life of a poet for a more lucrative career – but not before allowing himself a few months of poetic indulgence.

It was during the months of spring 1819 that he wrote many of his major odes. Following the month of May 1819, he began to tackle other forms of poetry, including a play, some longer pieces, and a return to his unfinished epic, Hyperion. His brother's financial woes continued to loom over him, and, as a result, Keats had little energy or inclination for composition, but, on 19 September  1819, he managed to squeeze out To Autumn, his last major work and the one that rang the curtain down on his career as a poet.

After writing "Ode to Psyche", Keats sent the poem to his brother and explained his new ode form: "I have been endeavouring to discover a better Sonnet stanza than we have. The legitimate does not suit the language well, from the pouncing rhymes; the other appears too elegiac, and the couplet at the end of it has seldom a pleasing effect. I do not pretend to have succeeded. It will explain itself."

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