‘Moods of My Own Mind’: Keats’s Anatomy of Melancholy. The Poems

Abstract

This chapter provides close analysis of each poem in turn, focusing on the order in which Keats chose to present the poems as an interrelated and evolving set of statements on different kinds of melancholy, building upon the previous chapters. Each poem exhibits a particular kind of melancholy from the history of the affliction. As a result of the thematic perspectives adopted in the book the chapter presents fresh, integrated readings of each of Keats’s poems in his wonderful 1820 anthology: Lamia Isabella The Eve of St Agnes Ode to a Nightingale Ode on a Grecian Urn Ode to Psyche Fancy Ode Lines on the Mermaid Tavern Robin Hood To Autumn Ode on Melancholy Hyperion, A Fragment (this requires a different approach since evidence suggests Keats did not wish to include it; however, it still contributes to the ‘melancholy’ theme.)