Writing to a bird

Keats differed greatly from his other Romantic colleagues. Of the poets that we have read so far, they seem to be writing poetry to emphasize certain aspects of things, whether it be politics, nature, or whatever. However, Keats writes simply because he enjoys it. He writes for the beauty of writing. He does not really have any agenda behind it. For example, he noticed a bird and liked the song of it. So he sat down for several hours and wrote about it. Keats was not trying to display some kind of ideology, he was simply writing for the beauty of writing. His poetry did not go without influence however. The death of his brother at a young age had a lasting impact on him. Keats often included some dark, solemn lines in his poems, including "My heart aches, and drowsy numbness pains," in the first line of "Ode to a Nightingale." This solemn tone sometimes conflicts with the overall cheerful nature of the rest of the poems, but I believe Keats does this on purpose. The contrast and comparisons display the overarching beauty and greatness of life, even though we all go through tough and sad times. He shows that the beauty around us makes life worth living, even when things are tough. This is further emphasized by the fact that he wrote lots of poetry in his last two years of life, when he knew he was dying. Keats continued to emphasize the beauty of nature and the emotion and power it has, even as his life is withering away.