The poetry of Keats has a beauty. (sensational / sensuous)

Defining Sensational and Sensuous

Before analyzing Keats, it’s crucial to define the terms. Sensational, in a literary context, refers to experiences that are startling, dramatic, and designed to evoke strong emotional responses – often fear, excitement, or outrage. It prioritizes impact and intensity. Conversely, sensuous describes experiences that are pleasing and delicate to the senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. It emphasizes aesthetic appreciation and subtle nuances. Sensuousness isn’t necessarily about intensity; it’s about the *quality* of the sensory experience.

Keats’ Poetry: A Celebration of Sensuousness

Keats’ poetry is overwhelmingly characterized by its sensuousness. He doesn’t aim to shock or thrill; he aims to immerse the reader in a world of beauty and delicate sensation. This is achieved through several key techniques:

• Detailed Sensory Imagery: Keats meticulously describes sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. Consider the opening lines of “Ode to a Nightingale”: “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk.” This isn’t a sensational shock, but a gradual, nuanced description of a physical and emotional state.
• Synesthesia: Keats frequently blends different senses, creating a richer and more complex sensory experience. In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” he writes of “soft pipes, played to the impossible air,” combining auditory and visual sensations.
• Focus on Aesthetic Pleasure: Keats’ poems often center on objects of beauty – flowers, art, nature – and explore the pleasure derived from contemplating them. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a prime example, celebrating the eternal beauty captured on the urn’s surface.
• Emphasis on Tactile Sensations: Keats frequently uses language that evokes a sense of touch. In “Ode to Autumn,” he describes the season as “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,” appealing to both sight and the feeling of ripeness and abundance.

Examples from Key Poems

Let's examine specific examples:

• “Ode to a Nightingale” (1819): The poem is filled with descriptions of scent – “embalmed darkness,” “grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild” – and sound – the nightingale’s song. These are not sensational experiences, but rather subtle and evocative impressions that create a mood of melancholy and longing.
• “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (1819): The poem focuses on the visual beauty of the urn and the stories it depicts. The descriptions are detailed and precise, but they are not intended to shock or overwhelm. Instead, they invite contemplation and aesthetic appreciation.
• “To Autumn” (1819): This ode is a celebration of the season’s abundance and beauty. The imagery is rich and sensuous, evoking the sights, smells, and tastes of autumn. The poem’s tone is one of peaceful contentment, not sensational excitement.

Why Not Sensational?

While Keats’ poetry deals with profound themes like mortality and loss, he rarely employs sensationalism to convey these ideas. He doesn’t rely on graphic descriptions or shocking imagery. Instead, he explores these themes through subtle nuances and emotional depth. The emotional impact of his poetry is derived from its beauty and truthfulness, not from its sensationalism.

Characteristic	Sensational	Sensuous (Keats)
Primary Goal	To shock, thrill, or excite	To delight, please, and evoke aesthetic appreciation
Imagery	Dramatic, intense, often violent	Detailed, delicate, focused on sensory experience
Emotional Impact	Strong, immediate, often negative	Subtle, nuanced, often melancholic or contemplative