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Nicholas Hammond
Mr. Blaser
British Survey
16 April 2014
Analysis of "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again"
John Keats's short poem "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again" describes as
he moves on from his passed and looks to the future. Written in 1816, Keats' poem follows the
form of a Petracha sonnet. This formation allows him to have more freedom and flow as the
piece continues into the sestet of the poem, during which the entire mood of the poem changes.
Instead of discussing the harsh components of Shakespeare's tragedy, he praises England and
Shakespeare for being able to display "our deep eternal theme" and the gradual decrease of his
surroundings as he allows King Lear to engulf him. In the last lines, he applies his freedom in
order to add a rhymed couplet at the end of the sonnet. This technique is a way of showing that
Keats has come to a final resolution to conquer his goal and to allow himself to let go of the
Romance that once lured him in with its "golden tongue"(1) and "serene lute"(1). Keats's word
choice and vivid imagery help to convey this theme.
Throughout the sonnet, Keats's word choice helps him to maintain his constant flow of
emotions of this poem as he goes from longing to forcefulness. Within the first three lines of
poem, Keats's uses words such as "serene lute"(1) and syren in order to convey to the reader the
full extent of persuasion that Romance had over him. Words like serene and syren smoothly slide
off the tongue with the lingering sound of an s. This s consonant gives the effect of a snake as it
slithers, much like the biblical story of Adam and Eve, the Romance is trying to persuade Keats
to continue to listen to her "melodizing on this wintry day." This persuasiveness, end abruptly,
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brought to halt in the next line when he says, "Shut up thine olden pages, and be mute."(4) In this
excerpt, Keats has finally pulled himself out of the persuasive haze of romance. The use of the
phrase Shut up, with its very sharp and crisp sound contrasts greatly with the lingering sound of
the s in the above lines. This contrast displays a harsh and even impatient tone in Keats voice
towards Romance as she tries to lure him in with a golden tongue. However in the next line,
Keats's harsh attitude changes towards romance once again with the use of the phrase,
"Adiu."(5) The use of Adiu shows that even though he wants to move on from Romance, he
still has a lingering appreciation for it. This simple phrase also helps to solidify the
personification of Romance to the reader due to the fact that he is formally saying goodbye to
Romance as if it were a human being.
Another important aspect of Keats's "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again"
is the use of imagery that helps to emphasize the theme of the sonnet. In the first two lines Keats
describes "the golden-tongued Romance with serene lute!/ Fair plumed Syren! Queen of far
away!"(1-2). This imagery personifies Romance as a beautiful women who is very persuasive in
her speech. Keats applies this personification in order to emphasize his personal connection with
Romance that he is now trying to end. He is ending this connection between himself and
Romance because he would much rather have "The bitter-sweet of this Shakespearean fruit."(8)
This bittersweet fruit refers to Shakespearean tragedy, which includes horrific drama while also
being a source of entertainment. This analogy of fruit is seen again, when Keats characterizes
romance as "a barren dream"(12) which displays the contrast between the desolate romance and
the bountiful Shakespearean tragedy. All of these pieces of imagery help to convey a larger piece
of imagery in which temperature is rising as the sonnet progresses. At the beginning of the poem,
Keats tells Romance to stop "melodizing on this wintry day."(3) This wintry day and the barren
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dream display as a frozen wasteland. However the poem quickly begins to warm up as Keats
describes damnation, which many categorize with the fires of hell. This progression continues as
he burns through the pages of King Leer. The poem continues until he finally reaches a point
where is "consumed in the fire."(13) This progression shows how the writing of Shakespeare
almost melts cold Romance, allowing Keats to let go and use his "new Phoenix wings to fly at
[his] desire"(14) without any boundaries or restrictions. This sonnet allows the reader to see how
it is possible to progress from something cold and barren and transform into something great.