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ENDYMION

   

          –  Book I
          –  Book II
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          –  Book IV

 

 

Analysis of the Endymion :

The mythological poem of the English Romantic poet John Keats – four thousand lines about young love of Endymion and the moon goddess Diana. It’s a kind of hymn to the Beauty, Love, Moon, Muse, and even the chanting of ancient Greece as the “golden age” of humanity. Keats composed Endymion in rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter (or heroic couplets). In April of 1817 the John Keats left London to travel around provincial Britain, to work there in seclusion on the poem “Endymion.”
Keats worked on the poem “Endymion” from mid-April of 1817 until the end of November 1817. The poem consists of four books and is the most voluminous work of John Keats (4050 lines) was published around April 27, 1818 as a separate publication (publishers Taylor and Hessey) with the subtitle “a poetic novel”, with dedicated to the memory of Thomas Chatterton”. Endymion had epigraph – a string of 17-th sonnet by Shakespeare:

“And stretched metre of an antique song” 

Keats creates original version of Endymion history. Endymion saw in his dream beautiful goddess of the moon Diana and felt in love. Since then, he is doomed to search heavenly beauty-truth. Following the concept of uplifting love, the poet leads his hero to the comprehension of the ideal through the cleansing of lovingkindness and compassion. Endymion readily comes to the rescue: standing up in front of Diana for separated Alpheus and Arethusa, returns youth and freedom to Glaucus and resurrects his beloved Scylla, ruined by spell of cunning Circe, as well as a host of lovers who have met their end in the bottomless depths of the ocean. From hero requires not only physical strength. Endymion is suffering not only from his love to goddess, but also because looking for the ideal he meets the captivating Indian girl. The hero is tormented by pangs of conscience, believing that he is betraying Diana, but it turns out that temptress of Endymion turned the goddess herself, set heart on experience the earthborn young man who was able to inspire her with love. As Endymion, unknown to himself, remained loyal to his great goddess, Zeus gives him immortality. The image of Endymion appears in the poem as an allegory of the poet, who finds a reward for faithful service to beauty ideal that is conceived imaginary beauty. The allegorical meaning of the poem emphasizes by introductory lines, containing a catch phrase:


“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”

 

 

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