Summary and composition

Here we will focus on the summary and composition of the poem “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats.

Summary

As the title announces it, the poem “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats is a praise to a nightingale by a first-person lyrical speaker. The speaker finds himself in a state of numbness when he hears the happy song of a nightingale, which fills his heart. This seems to make him long for the oblivious state one gets when drinking alcohol. He also desires to run away with the nightingale as he has come to realise the hardships and the momentary nature of human existence. Then, the speaker addresses the nightingale advising the bird to fly away and he promises to follow it with his poetry. He sees himself with the bird in a deep, dark forest where everything is dark, but he can still feel the presence of flowers. Consequently, the speaker confesses that the idea of death/dying attracts him, but he also realises that if he were dead, he would no longer be able to hear the nightingale’s song. He believes that the song of the bird is immortal and has been heard generation after generation. In the end, the bird flies away and takes its song with it, leaving the speaker...