Ode to Psyche - John Keats
Keats’s Homage to the Goddess of the Soul
Ode to Psyche
O Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers, wrung
By sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,
And pardon that thy secrets should be sung
Even unto thine own soft-conchèd ear:
Surely I dreamt to-day, or did I see
The wingèd Psyche with awakened eyes?
I wander'd in a forest thoughtlessly,
And, on the sudden, fainting with surprise,
Saw two fair creatures, couched side by side
In deepest grass, beneath the whisp'ring roof
Of leaves and trembled blossoms, where there ran
A brooklet, scarce espied:
'Mid hush'd, cool-rooted flowers fragrant-eyed,
Blue, silver-white, and budded Tyrian,
They lay calm-breathing on the bedded grass;
Their arms embraced, and their pinions too;
Their lips touch'd not, but had not bade adieu,
As if disjoinèd by soft-handed slumber,
And ready still past kisses to outnumber
At tender eye-dawn of aurorean love:
The wingèd boy I knew;
But who wast thou, O happy, happy dove?
His Psyche true!
O latest-born and loveliest vision far
Of all Olympus' faded hierarchy!
Fairer than Phoebe's sapphire-region'd star,
Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky;
Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none,
Nor altar heap'd with flowers;
Nor virgin-choir to make delicious moan
Upon the midnight hours;
No voice, no lute, no pipe, no incense sweet
From chain-swung censer teeming;
No shrine, no grove, no oracle, no heat
Of pale-mouth'd prophet dreaming.
O brightest! though too late for antique vows,
Too, too late for the fond believing lyre,
When holy were the haunted forest boughs,
Holy the air, the water, and the fire;
Yet even in these days so far retir'd
From happy pieties, thy lucent fans,
Fluttering among the faint Olympians,
I see, and sing, by my own eyes inspir'd.
So let me be thy choir, and make a moan
Upon the midnight hours;
Thy voice, thy lute, thy pipe, thy incense sweet
From swingèd censer teeming;
Thy shrine, thy grove, thy oracle, thy heat
Of pale-mouth'd prophet dreaming.
Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane
In some untrodden region of my mind,
Where branchèd thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,
Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:
Far, far around shall those dark-cluster'd trees
Fledge the wild-ridgèd mountains steep by steep;
And there by zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees,
The moss-lain Dryads shall be lull'd to sleep;
And in the midst of this wide quietness
A rosy sanctuary will I dress
With the wreath'd trellis of a working brain,
With buds, and bells, and stars without a name,
With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign,
Who, breeding flowers, will never breed the same;
And there shall be for thee all soft delight
That shadowy thought can win;
A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,
To let the warm Love in!
Composed in 1819, “Ode to Psyche” is often cited as the first of John Keats’s renowned odes, introducing themes and techniques he would develop more fully in subsequent works. Drawing from classical mythology, Keats addresses Psyche, a late addition to the Greek pantheon and personification of the soul. Yet he acknowledges that, unlike older gods, Psyche never received the full tradition of shrines, rituals, or hymns. Keats thus appoints himself her priest, promising to erect a spiritual sanctuary within his own imaginative realm.
The poem’s central tension arises from the recognition that ancient rites have faded. Keenly aware of the modern world’s distance from those “happy pieties,” Keats attempts to bridge the gap by offering his creative mind as a temple. By conjuring a lush, mental landscape—with branches, bees, streams, and “the gardener Fancy”—he constructs a visionary garden where Psyche may flourish.
“Ode to Psyche” exhibits the foundational concerns of Keats’s aesthetic philosophy: blending the sensory richness of nature with a quest for transcendence, and revealing the power of the poetic imagination to deify, immortalize, and reinvent. Keats’s language draws on the Romantic admiration for the past, while celebrating his personal commitment to artistry’s spiritual potential. In pledging devotion to Psyche, Keats underscores how deeply he values the interplay of love, beauty, and creativity, forging a timeless bond between mortal aspiration and mythic wonder.
Key points
• Centers on the goddess Psyche, who lacks traditional worship and ancient ritual.
• Keats adopts the role of priest, offering a temple built from his own imagination.
• Blends classical mythology with Romantic ideals of the poetic mind’s creative power.
• Showcases the theme of forging spiritual sanctuaries within personal, inward landscapes.
• Reflects Keats’s conviction that art and reverence for beauty can transcend historical boundaries.
