Perspectives

When analysing a literary text like “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats, it is always a good idea to try and put it into perspective.

The literary period

John Keats wrote during the time of the second generation of Romantic English poets, about the same time as Lord Byron. While the first generation of English Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth innovated poetry by dramatically presenting common subjects such as falling in love, the second generation of Romantics was more radical. They used more classical topics – such as ancient Greece – and approached them from a controversial perspective. Furthermore, Romantic poets are usually associated with idealism and escapism; disappointed by the rational world of the Enlightenment, they sought an escape in a distant idyllic past and myths and valued feelings over reason. 

Other texts by the same author

John Keats is best known and appreciated for his odes whi...