Class XII, ENGLISH, Poems, Summary, "Endymion"

Endymion

Introduction of the Poet
John Keats is one of the finest English poets. In spite of living only for twenty-six years, he contributed a lot to English Poetry. His poems are spirited and lively. His personal life was a tale of sorrow and bereavement, but his keen observant eye made him an admirer of nature, which is fully reflected in his poems.
Introduction of the Poem
Endymion is poem of great beauty. In this poem John Keats has expressed his conception of beauty and has given a unique definition of beauty. According to Classical Mythology Endymion was a beautiful youth with whom moon Goddess fell in love and on whom she induced a perpetual sleep in order to kiss him without his knowledge.
Summary
Endymion is a poem of great beauty. In this poem John Keats has expressed his conception of beauty and has given a unique definition of beauty. According to Classical Mythology Endymion was a beautiful youth with whom the moon goddess fell in love and on whom she induced a perpetual sleep in order to kiss him without his knowledge.
In this poem the poet says that beauty is a constant source of joy. Its loveliness increases with the passage of time. Beauty is immortal. It appears in many shapes. The world is full of misery but the beautiful objects of nature such as the sun, the moon, old and new trees and flowers give us great pleasure and we forget our griefs.
“Beauty moves away the pall from our dark spirits.”
We also see glimpses of beauty of the grand places, which we imagine for the mighty dead. Similarly we derive great pleasure from lovely tales which we have read or heard. There are masterpieces of literature and Art which serve as source of eternal joy. Heroic deeds and lives of great men of the past too, are among these objects of beauty. It is the heights of keat’s imagination All these visions of beauty are like a fountain, which gives an immortal drink to our thirsty souls.
“Imagination is the eye of the soul.”
- Joubert
Conclusion
Beauty is truth, turth beauty that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know
- John Keats

John Keats is an ardent lover of beauty. This is his fundamental belief and it operates in all his poems. He is really in search of Truth. He wants to enjoy beauty to the best possible degree. Endymion is a magnificent poem, which reflects profound love of the poet for beauty as it is a constant source of spiritual joy. Therefore one must not forget:
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”