Ode to a Nightingale tells the tale of this small bird, who although is not immortal, will live forever with the sound of its voice. .
"Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird!.
No hungry generations tread thee down;.
The voice I hear this passing night was heard.
In ancient days by Emperor and Clown .".
(Stanza 7 lines 1-4) .
He is stating that the bird in its self isn't immortal but its voice was heard by ancient people of the world, and will intern be heard be people long after Keats has died. So the voice of the Nightingale lives on long after the bird, and Keats feels it unfair that he should not become immortal, even though he has through his poetry. This particular feeling constantly reminds me of the fact that Keats is awaiting his death, and so even though the poem in its self isn't entirely depressing, the context in which it was written ads new dimension to its meaning, more darkness and despair. The language he uses .
to describe the Nightingale could lead the reader to believe that he has grown jealous or .
fearful of the bird and its ever living voice. Describing it as A light-winged Dryad of the trees and telling it to have some melodious plot, in a way transforms the nightingale into a villain, with intentions to darken his mood about life. .
Coleridge uses the past and present events in a unique structure, and in "Dejection: An Ode" he displays one attempt at conveying depression in a poem. It is the story of a lost love, no more than an infatuation that increased to become an amazing fantasy. His amazing descriptions in stanza seven almost lead you to believe she has passed away, or contracted some form of fatal illness. Yet the only disaster, is that she loses interest in him and so his infatuation can never become reality. Lines such as, "Hence viper chord that coil around my mind" and "with groans and tremulous shudder - all is over-." convey to me, that he is experiencing a truly tragic event.