ROMANTIC ELEMENTS IN JOHN KEATS’ POEM ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE

Abstract

Abstract Ode to a Nightingale is one of Keats’ best poems written in the spring of 1819. This poem was written as spontaneous expression after hearing the song of the nightingale. The poem depicts on a speaker standing in an imaginary forest, listening to a beautiful song of the nightingale. This provokes a deep and meandering meditation by the speaker on time, death, beauty, nature and human suffering. The proper subject of the poem is not so much about the bird itself as the poet’s aspiration is towards a life of beauty away from the oppressing world, a beauty revealed to him for a moment by listening to the bird’s song. As every single aspect of the poem is connected to the nuance of romanticism, then the scope of the research goes to the elements of romanticism: Nature, Supernaturalism, Contemplation, Beauty and Love. This study uses the theory of Wellek & Werren, regarding the intrinsic approach of literary works by observing and analyzing the elements in the literary work itself. The method used is a descriptive qualitative method proposed by Creswell. This is done because this research aims to reveal romantic elements in the poem ode to a nightingale, which are also related to social reality because all the elements carried out can also be found in social reality, meaning that every literary work is a representation of human life. Keywords: romanticism; nature; supernaturalism; contemplation; beauty; love