Poem Response 1

Claude Monet "Poplars at the Epte"

 

First stanza of (Endymion)

by: John Keats

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
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 inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.
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­­­­­ Everyone gets into a bad mood at some point. Inevitably, it is something beautiful that pulls us back into the sun. Right after reading Keats poem, I was reminded of a far off memory.

A particularly bad mood had me brooding. I was so absorbed in the bad that I didn’t notice my surroundings. Everything was muted by negative emotion. Until an electric yellow butterfly flew past my face, so close that it almost touched me. I was completely thrown off. This small creature just wasn’t to be ignored. It swooped around my head twice then flew away; it’s yellow wings melding with the blue sky. I watched it until I couldn’t see it any more. The negativity was gone and I was left feeling completely renewed. The only thought in my mind was how pretty. Butterfly’s, especially electric yellow ones, still make me smile when I see them, maybe even more than they did that day.

Keats captures exactly what beauty can do for human emotions. It lifts us up and if held onto we can turn our something beautiful into hope, our cure-all for any ail that the world might rain on us. Hope lasts forever in our hearts, always there for when we need a lift.