In his Ode to Fancy, Keats says that all seasons pass; 'spoilt by use', but your imagination never fails you. He says that all seasons being their own charms but these charms fade away as the season fades away. Then, comes winter when you 'sit by the ingle' and all is in a hush. At that time, Keats urges us to 'send abroad' our fancy. Our imagination will lead us back to the charms of the summer and the colors of spring.
Keats then describes in details what all you can imagine to yourself:
'The daisy and the marigold; White-plum'd lillies,...'
'When the bee-hive casts its swarms; Acorns ripe down-pattering, While the autumn breezes sing'
He then moves from seasons to a maiden. He says that a maiden might grow old , but your imagination need never to. In your imagination, you will find 'the maid/Whose lip mature is ever new?/Where's the eye, however blue, doth not weary?'
In short, what he is trying to say is that everything in this world is transient. Seasons pass and people age. The only thing that defies the boundaries of time is Fancy. In your imagination, you can celebrate spring while sitting on a winter hearth. When everything looks gloomy and dark in the winters, your imagination can lead you back to the brightness and warmth of spring and summer.
This is a very light ode. Not a lot of philosophy in it, but nonetheless a very interesting one. It is characteristic of Keats who was a romantic and his love for fancy shows his poetic escape into the world of his imagination. No doubt, his escape to his fancy has brought us many unparable delights. Perhaps, fancy itself is Keats' muse that urges him on in every poem that he wrote.
Keats then describes in details what all you can imagine to yourself:
'The daisy and the marigold; White-plum'd lillies,...'
'When the bee-hive casts its swarms; Acorns ripe down-pattering, While the autumn breezes sing'
He then moves from seasons to a maiden. He says that a maiden might grow old , but your imagination need never to. In your imagination, you will find 'the maid/Whose lip mature is ever new?/Where's the eye, however blue, doth not weary?'
In short, what he is trying to say is that everything in this world is transient. Seasons pass and people age. The only thing that defies the boundaries of time is Fancy. In your imagination, you can celebrate spring while sitting on a winter hearth. When everything looks gloomy and dark in the winters, your imagination can lead you back to the brightness and warmth of spring and summer.
This is a very light ode. Not a lot of philosophy in it, but nonetheless a very interesting one. It is characteristic of Keats who was a romantic and his love for fancy shows his poetic escape into the world of his imagination. No doubt, his escape to his fancy has brought us many unparable delights. Perhaps, fancy itself is Keats' muse that urges him on in every poem that he wrote.