Q : Write a detailed note on Keatss Hellenism. or Discuss Keatss love for Greek culture.

Ans : Meaning of Hellenism : The ancient Greeks called their country Hellas and themselves Hellenes, the name of a tribe that (in the time of pre-historic migrations) had settled in on this land. Graecia was a name given by the Romans to Hellas. Thus, the word Hellenism has been derived from the word Hellene, which means Greek. Therefore, Hellenism may be defined as a love of Greek art, literature, culture, and way of life. Its Influence on the Romantic Poets : The dawn of the 19th century witnessed a growing dissatisfaction among poets with the materialistic life of their times. Wordsworth, in a mood of indignation1, expressed a strong desire to be a pagan2 and a Greek rather than remain a Christian. Shelley too had a fascination for Greece and his Hellas represents his adoration of the Greek way of life and Hellenic attitude towards art. Byron was so greatly attracted by Greece that he joined the Greek army and sacrificed his life while fighting for Greek freedom against the Turks. But of all the Romantic poets, Keats had the warmest admiration for Greece. He was unmistakably a true representative of Greek thought in a sense in which Wordsworth and Shelley were not. Shelley had once remarked, Keats was a Greek. Threefold Influence of Greek Culture on Keats : Keats did not know the Greek language, and therefore had no opportunity of reading Greek literature. He had never visited Greece to study the Greek ways of life. The Greek influence on Keats came through three agencies of literature, sculpture, and his innate tendency: (a) Keats had no first-hand knowledge of Greek literature. He derived his knowledge of the Greek classics from translations and books of reference like Chapmans translation of Homer, and Lemprieres Classical Dictionary. When Keats was sixteen year old, one of his friends lent him a copy of Chapmans translation of Homer. It excited his vision and stimulated his interest in Greek literature and mythology. It revealed to him the new world of wonder and delight. On reading Chapmans Homer, Keats felt as he had discovered a new planet and he himself expressed his feelings in the following lines:
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indignation anger; resentment. pagan the word used in the past to describe a person who did not believe in Christianity or any other established religion of the world (a hierarchy of gods and goddesses in Greece before the birth of Christ are also called pagan gods).

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Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken. *On First Looking into Chapmans Homer, a sonnet by Keats+ Keats was greatly fascinated by Lemprieres Classical Dictionary. He had leant it by heart and was familiar with Greek gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. He loved every bit of it, and freely used it in his poetry. (b) The second source of Keatss Hellenism is the Greek sculpture. His source was Elgin Marbles3 obtained chiefly from the Parthenon4 by Lord Elgin in 1811. These sculptures of ancient Greece fascinated Keatss imagination. The calm grandeur of Greek art, its majesty, symmetry and simplicity, and lastly its sense of proportion came to Keats through his knowledge of these marbles. According to a critic, Hyperion is in poetry what the Elgin Marbles are in sculpture. (c) But the strongest source of his Hellenism is the inborn temperamental Greekness of Keat ss mind. He had a temperamental affinity with the ancient Greek writers and thinkers. He had an inborn love for the Greek spirit, their religion of joy and their religion of beauty. Keats was driven to the world of Greek beauty because he wanted to escape imaginatively from the harsh realities of the present. His Love for Greek Myths and Legends : The first and the most important trait which binds Keats with the Greeks is his love for their myths and legends. For his subjects and themes, he frequently goes to Greek myths and legends. Several of his longer poems such as Endymion, Hyperion, and Lamia are based on Greek myths. The great odes To Psyche, On Grecian Urn, On Indolence, and To Maia owe their origin to Greek mythology and art. A few of his sonnets like On First Looking into Chapmans Homer and On Seeing the Elgin Marbles are inspired by Greek literature and reveal the important influence exerted on him by Greek sculpture. Endymion deals with the Greek legend of the love of Moon goddess for the shepherd Endymion. Hyperion treats the ancient Greek legend of the overthrow of the old gods (Titans) by the new gods (Olympians). Lamia presents the story of the love of the serpent godde ss (Lamia) and a human being Lycius. The Ode to Psyche is based on the myth related to the love of Cupid, the Greek god of love, and the goddess Psyche. Ode on a Grecian Urn and Ode on
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Elgin Marbles - The Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures, inscriptions and architectural structures that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. 4 Parthenon The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Its construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC.

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Indolence are inspired by pieces of Greek sculpture. The fragmentary Ode to Maia is related to the ancient worship of the Greek goddess Maia. All these poems show how deeply Keatss imagination was steeped in the classical mythology. His Use of Greek Allusions5 : Keatss Hellenism is also revealed in the frequent Greek allusions found in his poems. There are countless allusions to Greek legends and stories in his poems which are not directly based on Greek themes. In Ode to a Nightingale, reference is made to Dryad6 of the trees, the blushful Hippocrene7, and Bacchus8 and his pards. The Ode on a Grecian Urn alludes to the ancient sacrificial scene with its mysterious priest; there are also references to ancient rituals and ceremonies performed to propitiate9 pagan gods. Greek Atmosphere : Through his treatment of Greek myths and allusions to Greek characters, Keats creates a Greek atmosphere in his poetry. For this, he presents typically Greek objects, ceremonies, rituals, shrines, pipes, processions, and sacrifices. This is what we find in the first stanza of Ode on a Grecian Urn. His Manner of Personifying the Powers of Nature : Keats is a Greek in his manners of personifying the powers of nature. What the Greeks felt, Keats also felt. The rising sun for Keats is not a ball of fire, but Apollo riding his chariot. He sees the moon as the goddess with a silver bow coming down to kiss Endymion. In fact, the world of Greek paganism lives here in the poetry of Keats, with all the wonder and mysticism of the natural world. Autumn to Keats is not only a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, but a divinity in human shape. Autumn sometimes appears as a thresher : Sitting careless on granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind. sometimes as a reaper sound asleep on a half reaped furrow, or as a gleaner steadying the laden head across a brook. Thus like the Greeks, Keats attributes human qualities to various objects of nature. His Love for Beauty :
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allusions hints; indirect references. Dryad fairy of the woods; tree-nymph. 7 Hippocrene the fountain of the Greek Muses. 8 Bacchus /bks/ (Roman name for Dionysus) the Greek god of wine and revelry (i.e. celebration) who travels in his chariot which is drawn by leopards. 9 propitiate appease; pacify; to calm down.

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The Greeks were lovers of beauty, and so is Keats. To him, as to the Greeks, the expression of beauty is the aim of all art. It was the perfection of loveliness in Greek art that fascinated Keats. It was the beauty and shapeliness of the figures on the Grecian Urn that started his imaginative impulse which created the great Ode. Keatss passionate pursuit of beauty shows the instinctive Greekness of his mind. To him A thing of beauty is a joy for ever (Endymion), and Beauty is truth, truth beauty (Ode on a Grecian Urn). Thus there was in Keats the keenest sense and enjoyment of beauty, and this gave him a fellow-feeing with the Greek masters. The Greeks did not burden their poetry with philosophy or spiritual message. Their poetry was incarnation of beauty. Similarly Keats was a pure poet. He enjoyed unalloyed 10 pleasure in beauty which for him did not carry any philosophical or spiritual message. His poetry had no palpable11 design. However for him, the sense of beauty overcame every other consideration. His Manner of Treatment : Keatss Hellenism is revealed not only through his treatment of Greek legends and myths but also in his manner of this treatment. At places his poetry possesses the classical grandeur and sublimity such as in portions of Hyperion. There is also a perfection of form as in his odes. The odes show an amazing sense of proportion in the Greek manner and present a well-designed evolution of thought. He has also employed the heroic couplet which was a favourite verse form with the classical poets like Homer. Criticism of His Manner : However, it would not be completely right to regard Keatss manner entirely Greek. He was mainly a romantic poet and wrote in a manner differing from that of the classical poets. Although he is Greek by nature, his artistic method and mode of expression are not always Greek. Sidney Colvin has rightly said that he does not write of Greek things in a Greek manner. The perfection of form, the beauty of shape, the purity of outline, and restraint in expression these are the qualities generally associated with Greek art and poetry. But they are found only in a few of Keatss poems. In place of these classical traits, Keats exhibits romantic traits such as richness of imagination, exuberance12 of imagery, and luxuriance13 of style that we find in poems like Endymion. These are the qualities that are opposed to the Greek qualities of restraint and discipline. Conclusion :
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unalloyed unadulterated; absolute. palpable definite; clear. 12 exuberance strong and healthy. 13 luxuriance abundance; richness.

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In conclusion, we can say that Keats was a Greek in spirit but romantic in form. He treats the Greek themes in the romantic manner. In the opinion of a critic, the Greek influence has been vastly exaggerated14. He neither knew nor cared anything about Greek history and civilization. In fact, Keats cared as much for Greece as for his own country. He combined the classicism of Greece with the romanticism of the Elizabethan England.

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exaggerated overstated; overstressed.

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