As
Libby details below, the myth of Adonais dying at a young age and then resurrecting
as a part of nature is what Shelley is trying to appeal to his readers to feel
about Keats. He hopes that people will mourn his passing, but then “resurrect”
his memory through reading and learning about his literary works for years to
come. Interesting too to note that Adonais ended up dying because of having to
split his love between two people and being torn apart, and Shelley blames
Keats’ death on him being torn apart by critics, for example when he says in
stanza 37 “Thou noteless blot on a remembered name!” Additionally, Adonais is
known as the god of beauty and remains ever-youthful, never aging. Shelley
draws this connection when he says in stanza 54, “That Beauty in which all
things work and move”, and because Keats died at such a young age, his memory
and works will remain ever youthful and beautiful throughout the ages.
I think you're right about the choice of comparison of Keats to Addonias, as a figure of eternal youth and beauty. Shelley seems to almost be jealous that Keats got to go at a young age, still at his peak. He even laments at one point: "Of thee, my Adonais! I would give/All that I am to be as thou now art!/ But I am chained to Time, and cannot thence depart!" Is Shelley arguing that it's better for a poet to die young, so that there is not time for his memory to be tainted by age and decrepid-ness (even though Keats had already received censure on his work)?
ReplyDeleteI think knw's reading of Shelley's desire to join Keats among the dead is exactly right, and It definitely seems like Shelley is jealous of how Keats' early death will contribute to his poetic immortality. However, this could be part of Shelley's efforts to immortalize himself through immortalizing Keats. After all, his elegy is so extensive, almost to the point of being a little over the top, that at times it feels like he is just showing off. So maybe, this wish to die young is tongue in cheek and he is actually trying to show that he doesn't need to die young in order to have this same poetic immortality (interestingly enough, though, he will die just a year later at the age of 29).
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