Ode To A Nightingale Analysis

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In literature, an archetype is known as a universal pattern that could be a character, theme, symbol, or a setting. By using common archetypes, it can be used to analyze and contrast different works of literature. In the poem, Ode to a Nightingale, the author John Keats makes connections with archetypes as well as Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. By comparing Wilde and Keats’ work with archetypes, it can be seen that it manifests similar archetypes that approaches different theories along with other works that have been discussed in class. According to Northrop Frye’s theory of archetypes, he states that archetypes outlines four phases of the year which are: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. When contrasting Oscar Wilde, John Keats, and James Joyce’s work, it is noted that they both acquire the season summer that is an archetypal season for romance. Comparing John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale, we can see that it displays the archetypal season of summer when Keats’ uses sight imagery to outline the nightingale’s world that describes his surroundings as he says, “Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves; / And mid-May’s eldest child, / The coming musk-rose” L47-49. Seeing that Keats’ love for nature and the beauty of the nightingale coincides with the archetypal season for romance shows, it connects to the descriptions of summer in the poem. On the other hand, Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray has shown similar aspects of summer as it describes the setting where