In drear-nighted December'

Context

• Written in December 1817.

• Reflects Keats' contemplative state during a period of personal hardship, particularly the illness and impending death of his brother Tom.

• Keats was experiencing emotional and physical exhaustion, influencing the poem's melancholic tone.

• Illustrates Keats' Romantic preoccupation with memory, loss, and the contrast between nature's constancy and human suffering.

  

• The poem is imbued with Keats' reflections on the transience of happiness and the enduring nature of sorrow.

Structure and Form

• Lyrical poem composed of three stanzas, each with eight lines.
• Rhyme scheme: ABABCCCD.
• Written in iambic tetrameter.
• Each stanza juxtaposes the untroubled state of nature with human emotional turmoil.
• The repetitive structure and rhyme enhance the poem's meditative quality.

Key Themes

Memory and Forgetting

• "Thy branches ne'er remember / Their green felicity—"
• Nature's lack of memory contrasts with the human capacity for recalling past joys and sorrows.
• Highlights the untroubled continuity of nature versus human emotional suffering.

Nature's Constancy

• "The north cannot undo them / With a sleety whistle through them"
• Nature remains unaffected by seasonal changes, reflecting its resilience and constancy.
• Emphasizes the enduring stability of nature compared to human vulnerability.

Emotional Pain

• "Ah! would 'twere so with many / A gentle girl and boy—"
• Expresses a wish that humans could be free from the pain of lost love and happiness.
• Highlights the pervasive and inevitable nature of emotional suffering in human life.

Transience of Happiness

• "But were there ever any / Writh'd not of passed joy?"
• Suggests that suffering from lost happiness is an inevitable part of the human condition.
• Reflects the Romantic view of the fleeting nature of joy and the enduring presence of sorrow.

Isolation and Despair

• "The feel of not to feel it, / When there is none to heal it"
• Describes the paradox of emotional numbness and the longing for healing.
• Reflects deep emotional despair and the isolation that accompanies unhealed emotional wounds

Similar Poems

• "To Autumn": Shares themes of nature's cycles and contrasts between different times of the year.
• "Ode to a Nightingale": Explores themes of transience, memory, and the desire to escape from human suffering.
• "Ode on Melancholy": Reflects on the interplay between joy and sorrow, and the nature of human emotions.

Line by Line Analysis

Stanza 1

In drear nighted December, Too happy, happy tree, Thy branches ne'er remember Their green felicity— The north cannot undo them With a sleety whistle through them Nor frozen thawings glue them From budding at the prime.

"In drear nighted December,"

• Sets the melancholic tone with the bleak imagery of a dreary December night.
• "Drear nighted" conveys a sense of prolonged darkness and cold.

"Too happy, happy tree,"

• The repetition of "happy" emphasizes the tree's contentment.
• Suggests an ideal state of untroubled existence in nature.
• The contrast of a "happy tree"

"Thy branches ne'er remember / Their green felicity—"

• The personification of the tree, attributing it with the ability to forget.
  • Cyclic structure of nature, the immortality of it.
• "Green felicity" symbolizes the joy and vitality of spring, now forgotten.

"The north cannot undo them / With a sleety whistle through them"

• Describes the resilience of the tree against harsh winter weather.
• "Sleety whistle" personifies the wind, adding to the bleak atmosphere.

"Nor frozen thawings glue them / From budding at the prime."

• "Frozen thawings" indicates the cycle of freezing and melting, yet the tree remains unaffected.
• "Budding at the prime" signifies the tree's inevitable renewal in spring.

Stanza 2

In drear-nighted December, Too happy, happy brook, Thy bubblings ne'er remember Apollo's summer look; But with a sweet forgetting, They stay their crystal fretting, Never, never petting About the frozen time.

"In drear-nighted December,"

• Repeats the opening line, reinforcing the poem's cyclical structure and melancholic mood.

"Too happy, happy brook,"

• Mirrors the earlier description of the tree, applying it to a brook.
• Suggests the brook's perpetual contentment.

"Thy bubblings ne'er remember / Apollo's summer look;"

• The personification of the brook indicates its detachment from memories of summer.
  • Suggests life and movement.
• "Apollo's summer look" refers to the god of the sun, symbolizing warmth and brightness.

"But with a sweet forgetting, / They stay their crystal fretting,"

• "Sweet forgetting" implies a peaceful oblivion.
  • The oxymoron is a Keats paradox - being in 'Negative Capability'.
  • Semantic field of memory.
• "Crystal fretting" describes the gentle, untroubled movement of the brook.

"Never, never petting / About the frozen time."

• "Never, never" emphasizes the brook's constant state of peace.
• "Petting" suggests minor disturbances, which the brook does not experience.
• "frozen time" is ironic as nature always experiences time.
  • Something eternal cannot be frozen.

Stanza 3

Ah! would 'twere so with many A gentle girl and boy— But were there ever any Writh'd not of passed joy? The feel of not to feel it, When there is none to heal it Nor numbed sense to steel it, Was never said in rhyme.

"Ah! would 'twere so with many / A gentle girl and boy—"

• Expresses a wish that humans could also forget past pains like the tree and brook.
• "Gentle girl and boy" signifies innocent, youthful individuals.
• The importance of punctuation in this stanza creates an emphasis.

"But were there ever any / Writh'd not of passed joy?"

• A rhetorical question highlighting the universal experience of suffering from lost happiness.
• "Writh'd" conveys intense emotional pain, a physical sensation.

"The feel of not to feel it, / When there is none to heal it"

• Describes the paradox of emotional numbness and the longing for healing.
• Reflects deep emotional despair.

"Nor numbed sense to steel it, / Was never said in rhyme."

• "Numbed sense" suggests emotional detachment as a defence mechanism.
• "steel" - to fortify yourself against emotions.
• "Was never said in rhyme" indicates that the depth of this pain is rarely captured in poetry.