John Keats presents the dilemma between imagination and reality in his famous poems 'Ode to a Nightingale' and

'Ode on a Grecian Urn' discuss. In the Romantic period, the emphasis on literary works was put on the individual rather than the social and on nature rather than society. Imagination is considered an important and powerful faculty of mind in the creation of literary works and in the discovery of truth. John Keats is among the second generation Romantics, who put stress on individualism, individual judgement, imagination and the active minds interaction with nature (Haskell 18). Many of Keatss poems demonstrate his dilemma as torn between imagination and reality, and two of the most significant examples of his dilemma are Ode to a Nightingale and Ode on a Grecian Urn. Both poems are concerned with imaginative perception. The former presents an imaginative ideal of nature whereas the latters attention is paid to art and the hypothetical ideal is in the realm of art (Stillinger 7). Ode to a Nightingale The principal stress of Ode to a Nightingale is a struggle between the ideal and the real, with the nightingale as the ideal image (Fogle 32). In the first stanza, the speaker tries to immerse himself in the happiness of the bird and projects himself imaginatively into the world that the bird seems to inhabit. A draught of vintage in stanza 2 is an instrument of imagination which symbolises an escape from the actual world. Wine helps the speaker to attain the nightingales happiness and the speaker reveals his wish to fade away into the forest dim with the nightingale (line 20). In stanza 3, the speaker says the fading into the world of nightingale makes him forget the weariness, the fever, and the fret in the actual world where men sit and hear each other groan (lines 23-24). The speaker makes an imaginative escape from the dull brain which perplexes and retards him (line 34). The sixth stanza talks about death, which is easeful, rich and with no pain. Death gains acceptance in the nightingales world, however, the speaker believes that the bird is immortal and this intensifies the separation between the mortal speaker and the immortal bird. The final stanza presents the return of the speaker to the reality. The word forlorn explicitly shows the failure of the speaker in his attempt to enter into the imaginative world of the nightingale; imagination ceases. Keats even poses the problem of the truth of imagination here: Was it a vision, or a waking dream? (line 79). The poem concludes with the idea that fancy is a cheat (line 73). Keats demonstrates the dilemma: the idealistic image of the nightingale symbol and the reality of the tragic world. Transcendence of mortality into the immortality creates a conflict between actual and ideal. Ode on a Grecian Urn Ode on a Grecian Urn, on the other hand, places the imaginative ideal in the realm of art. The urns ancientness, quietness and wholeness are presented in the first stanza by the speaker. In stanza 2, imagination starts to work. The sense of beauty captured by readers is imaginative: Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard / Are sweeter (lines 11-12). The ideal state of the urn is described in stanza 3 with the strength of nature, music and love. Imagination clearly

works to a full extent in stanza 3 and the speaker escapes from the actual world to create an ideal state of the urn. The speaker takes a fresh look on the urn in stanza 4 and his attitude changes. It seems that the beauty of the urn is not so vivid and lively and the imaginative ideal collapses. In the last stanza, the speaker inevitably returns back to the actual world. The speaker retreats himself from the urn and says the urn has teased us out of thought (line 44). The phrase Cold Pastoral implies that the coldness of eternity requires imagination to make it alive. However, the value of the urn is not rejected at the end it is like a friend to man (line 48). The urn is highly valued in an artistic sense but it cannot represent life as it is lifeless. Keats is again presenting the dilemma in the conflict between the actual and the ideal in this poem. The Two Odes Both odes present a flight and return pattern beginning with a flight from the real towards the ideal, going through an imaginative assessment of the ideal and makes a final return to the real (Stillinger 9). However, the reality presented at the end is different from the original actual world after the imaginative journey. Both poems show a progressive abandonment of the imaginative world and reflect Keatss failing attempt to escape into the ideal realm. In the two odes, Keats exploits his imaginative talents and presents to us the sadness of his dilemma the struggle between actual and ideal, and its ultimate failure. References: Fogle, Richard Harter. Keatss Ode to a Nightingale. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Keatss Odes. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall International, 1968. 32-43 Haskell, Dennis. The Poetry of John Keats. South Australia: Sydney University, 1991. Stillinger, Jack. Introduction: Imagination and Reality in the Odes of Keats.Twentieth Century Interpretations of Keatss Odes. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall International, 1968. 1-16