This thesis is a study in the theory and composition of
mythological poetry in the work of John Keats. This subject
Is introduced in chapter I with an examination of the “Ode to
Psyche.” The argument of the Ode Is Important for its definition of the poet as a mythmaker and its equation of poetry and
Myth. Chapter II consists of definitions of mythological poetry
and myth. Mythological poetry includes poems which merely
allude or refer to myth poems which reproduce received myth,
poems which reinterpret and revitalize inert myth, and poems
which are original creations of myth. Myth is defined as a
verbal construction having special significance as a way of
defining the relationship between man and his environment
through the creation of the supernatural by projecting the
human form upon the inhuman world which has personal, social,
and universal relevance, and may be the composition of an
individual, in this case Keats; and in which, in accordance
with their special significance, the narrative or theme, the
characters, action, time, setting and form are stylized or
archetypal. In chapter III, I examine the Intellectual context
in which Keats formed his conceptions of poetry and myth and
composed his mythological poetry. Influences on, and correspondences to Keats’ theory and practice are identified in a
historical survey of the theories and practices of his predecessors and contemporaries, and with some reference to Keats’
biography. Chapter IV If consists of an examination of Keats’
theoretical approach to poetry and myth. Considering Keats’
poems and letters as theoretical statements only, I illustrate
the correspondences between his concept of poetry and the
definition of myth which I made in chapter II. Keats writings
also contain explicit identifications of poetry and myth and
the poets that Keats most admired are composers of mythological
poetry. Keats laments the passing of the golden age of poetry,
but he offers his own poetry as a substitution for the works
of the vanished golden age. He has declared that poetry is
myth and that he, himself, will be a mythmaker. In chapter
V I conclude my thesis with a demonstration of Keats' development
as a mythmaker through an examination of some of his
mythological poetry. This development is an alteration from
his early and derivative references to inert myth, through
increasingly original reproductions and Interpretations of
received myth, to a final approach to the original creation
of vital myth in the "Ode to Autumn.” / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/42427 |
| Date | January 1967 |
| Creators | Blott, Stewart Gordon |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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