KEATS' PRESENTATION OF ROMANTIC ESCAPISM IN HIS POEMS

John Keats is one of the most remarkable poets of English Literature. His poetry revolves around
romanticism and idealism, bringing to the fore all his thoughts, ideas, experiences and desires.
Romantic escapism, a part of romanticism, is an extremely important element of Keats poetry,
serving as a foundation for many of his poems as he tries to project himself in the same,
undesired situation and attempting to escape the world of worries through the power of his
poetry. The recurrence of this theme in his poems is actually not only a part of romanticism, but
also greatly a result of his personal unfortunate experiences in life. This painful experience of life
is what actually makes him somewhat pessimistic and compels him to resort to the option of
escapism through his poetry.
In the ode to a Nightingale Keats fully expounds upon romantic escapism. He is pouring out his
thoughts very beautifully and is longing for escape from the world full of strife, sadness and grief.
While listening to and appreciating the sweetly sung song of the nightingale, Keats too, wishes to
become like her so that he can fly away from the cruel world that has given him nothing else but
pain.
Fade far away, dissolve and quite forget
The weariness, the fever and the fret
Keats repeatedly wishes to become like the nightingale whose melodious song is eternal and
universal and soothes not only the mind but also the soul. He states that although he has no
wings yet he would like to fly away on the viewless wings of Poesy Then again, Keats
expresses the desire to die an easeful Death so that he doesnt have to bear the harsh realities
of life. Knowing that life has got nothing good to give him, he chooses death instead. Also aware
that he cant become like the nightingale, who songs so melodiously, regardless of all the crisis in
the world and whose beauty cant be snatched away by passing time, Keats prefers death as a
solution to his problems. However, by the end of the poem he is pulled back from his world of
fancy into the real world, where he has to live and fight for his survival.
In another of Keats poems called The Eve of St. Agnes, the theme of romantic escapism is
quite dominant. In this ballad, Madeline, the heroine, out of her love for Porphyro performs the
rites of St. Agnes in order to envision her future husband, amidst all the festivities and
celebrations going on. On the other hand, the fire of love being kindled in Porphyros heart for
Madelinemakes him come to her house to see her, despite the fact that their families are sworn
enemies and all his could-be killers had gathered there. This poem is actually a celebration of
love. Despite all the dangers, Porphyro gets to meet Madeline and they elope in a very idealistic
setting. Both Madeline and Porphyro are hungry for love and escape the house of their enemies
that night so that they can freely celebrate their love and union. They run away from the worries
and fears of their families reaction to create a world of their own where they would be free to
love and court each other. The darkness of the night and the noisy storm helped them conceal
themselves as they escaped unnoticed, especially when the house was full of guests that night!
This is how Keats presents the theme of romantic escapism in his poems, as a depiction of his
own sorry state and terribly agonizing experiences. This desire of escaping is actually a result of
a very lonely and miserable life that he has spent, wherein his career was ruined; his family lost;
he couldnt get the love of his life due to poverty and then had to combat tuberculosis in the end.
All these factors made him pessimistic and compelled him to turn towards the option of
escapism, projected in his poetry as romantic escapism.