A Study Of The Aesthetics Of Death In John Keats’ Poetry

John Keats is a famous English poet in the 19th century. He is one of the representatives of the Romantic poets. Keats writes many poems in a sentimental and romantic tune which are great treasure in the English literature as well as the world literature. Previous studies on Keats mainly focused on poetry analysis supported by literary theories such as structuralism, feminism, ecologism, new criticism, etc. This thesis mainly focuses on Keats’ aesthetics of death. Death is the theme in Keats’poetry, and Keats’meditation on death inevitably influencs his poetry creation. In Keats’ poems, the description of death always reflects a special kind of beauty.The thesis mainly includes five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction of the thesis. Chapter Two mainly discusses the aesthetic manifestations of the aesthetics of death. Death is peaceful and fair; death is melancholy and romantic; and death is transcending and liberating. Chapter Three talks about the expressive techniques of the aesthetics of death in Keats’ poems. Keats uses odes as his main poetic form. The figures of speech and use of images also play an important part in the expression of the beauty of death. Chapter Four explores the expression effect of the aesthetics of death. Through reading Keats’ poems, readers can often sense his poems are enveloped by an atmosphere of death. Keats’ depictions of death are beautiful that they can produce a feeling of self-identity from readers. What’s following next is a stronger love for life from readers’ hearts. Chapter Five is conclusion of the thesis.The conclusion of the thesis is that the depictions of death in Keats’ poetry often have various kinds of beauty. The reveal of the aesthetics of death is closely related to Keats’ exquisite poetic skills. Reading Keats’ poetry of death, the reader can often have a deep sense of beauty. The analysis of the aesthetics of death in Keats’ poetry can help readers have a better understanding of Keats’ poetry and its beauty. So the readers can have a deeper understanding of Keats’s poems and a more comprehensive knowledge of Keats.