This long narrative poem consists of four books, containing one thousand or even more verses. Keats opens the poem with the description of a holy place situated on the Isle of Latmos and sacrificed to the god of all shepherds and hunters – Pan. His favourite activities are dancing, joyful ramping about and playing or listening to the shepherds’ pipes. The hymn is supposed to be humorous but its words express grief and sorrow because a musical instrument pipe is made from the hallow reed which is turned by the fairy Nymph Syrinx. She is loved by Pan but the fairy turned in front of his eyes into reed to save herself. In the first book, he tells the story of a beautiful shepherd with whom Cynthia (or Diana, Phoebe) falls in love when she sees him sleeping on Mt. Latmos and night after night she lies down beside him as he sleeps. She wants to see him in the same position therefor she may enjoy his beauty. It is given in another version that he obtains from Zeus eternal youth and the gift of sleeping as long as he wishes. Thus Endymion begins not only the grounds of the immediate story, but the grounds of poetry, in the concept of beauty symbolizes by Cynthia. Here Keats tries to establish the human need of beauty which isn’t only for the pleasure but also of very survival:
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing,
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the