Themes

The main themes of the poem “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats are illusion versus reality and transience versus eternity. These themes are enhanced through motifs like drinking, dreaming and euphoria.

Illusion versus Reality

In this ode, the poet explores the idea of the difficulties one might have in differentiating between illusions and reality. To do this, the poet chose a speaker who appears to be drunk, in a state of dizziness and euphoria. This state makes it hard for the speaker to tell what is and not real. However, the speaker seems to enjoy this state as it allows him to escape in an idyllic natural world, hearing and feeling the song of a nightingale. Also, the allusions to Greek myths further question the profane reality we know. Myths present magical events which do not seem possible in the real world, yet these myths seem very real to the poet while listening to the nightingale’s song. Also, the poet clearly shows that our perception of reality can be d...