Poetry: A Therapeutic Getaway

By Roxanna Melgonza

What is poetry? What is the purpose of poetry? How should poetry influence society? In the poem, “Ode to a Nightingale”, the author John Keats goes against the traditional beliefs of what poetry should be by defining this literary style as a poet's personal escape from reality.

Throughout the entire poem, the speaker goes through a journey to find an escape from the pain he feels which is described as “heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pain” (line 1). As the poem develops, the speaker reveals the many trials and errors taken in the look for his everlasting happiness. In the first stanza, the speaker states, “This is not through envy of thy happy lot/ But being too happy in thine happiness” (line 5-6). In this quote, the speaker is speaking about the nightingale bird he hears in the distance. As the poem progresses, the speaker starts to desire the idea of becoming a bird.

The speaker presents another option to fill his void, which is to confide in alcohol as can be understood when he says, “I might drink, and leave the world unseen/ And with the fade away into the forest dim” (lines 19-20). The speaker in this line shows that he wishes for a break from his life and would like to simply just disappear. For that reason, he suggests that alcohol could help him dissolve and run away from his inner demons.

Following into the next stanza, the speaker continues with this desire to disappear as he states, “Away! away! for I will fly to thee, /Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards, / But on the viewless wings of Poesy”(line 31-32). In this quote, the speaker comes to believe that perhaps making poetry can free him from his pain. In being able to create art, the speaker can relieve his stress and allow himself an outlet to express all his hidden feelings. In the sixth stanza, he speaks of the impact poetry had in his life, he says “While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad/ In such ecstasy!” (line 57-58).

From all the proposed escapes, poetry seems to be the most effective and beneficial to the speaker. In seeing this, it shows the reader how one can use poetry to find an outlet to speak on one's emotions, challenges and inner troubles.