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Ode on Melancholy by John Keats is a poem about how to overcome sadness. It is not a sonnet because it exceeds the 14 line limit of a sonnet. In the first stanza, Keats elaborates on ways NOT to overcome sadness. He says not to go to Lethe, which is a river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology. He also says not to “twist Wolf’s-bane, tight rooted, for its poisonous wine; Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss’d By nightshade” which means not to commit suicide by way of poisoning. Lastly, the poem says that you shouldn’t become obsessed with objects of death such as “the beetle, nor the death-moth.” If you do all of these things, the poem says you basically will never overcome your sadness. The next stanzas deal with how you SHOULD overcome sadness. The poet emphasizes the importance of overcoming sadness with natural beauty such as “a morning rose” “the salt sand-wave” “globed peonies” and the eyes of a lover. The poem ends saying that those who can overcome sadness are the only ones who truly understand it’s power.
Ode on Melancholy by John Keats is a poem about how to overcome sadness. It is not a sonnet because it exceeds the 14 line limit of a sonnet. In the first stanza, Keats elaborates on ways NOT to overcome sadness. He says not to go to Lethe, which is a river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology. He also says not to “twist Wolf’s-bane, tight rooted, for its poisonous wine; Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss’d By nightshade” which means not to commit suicide by way of poisoning. Lastly, the poem says that you shouldn’t become obsessed with objects of death such as “the beetle, nor the death-moth.” If you do all of these things, the poem says you basically will never overcome your sadness. The next stanzas deal with how you SHOULD overcome sadness. The poet emphasizes the importance of overcoming sadness with natural beauty such as “a morning rose” “the salt sand-wave” “globed peonies” and the eyes of a lover. The poem ends saying that those who can overcome sadness are the only ones who truly understand it’s power.