Keats and His Major Odes

The book is a keen study of Keats as a romantic poet. The author has tried to make subtle literary observation as to how Keats romantic sensibility changes its shades in his poems and the great odes. The romantic sensibility of the poet revealed in his great odes is unique from the other poems. The book also makes a critical study of the meaning of the word romanticism. The word romanticism as vague as it is has become one of the most inclusive terms in English literary history and criticism. It has been used in so many senses and contexts that it is difficult to use it with a reasonable degree of authenticity. There are therefore romanticisms there is nothing like romanticism. The meaning of the word goes on changing from context to context. As the historical context changes the connotation of the term romanticism also changes. Writers and poets belonging to one historical context always reveal individual differences. Nevertheless Wordsworth is a romantic not in the same sense in which Keats is a romantic. They are romantic not merely because they reveal family resemblances but also because they have some individual characteristics which are essentially romantic. Even the odes of Keats reveal a different shade of romanticism than the shade of romanticism revealed in his other poems. The book also makes a keen study of the authors critical literary insight. It is of great use and help to the researchers and scholars interested in 19th century English poetry.