Keats Immortalized as Endymion

In the subtitle of his elegy "Adonais," Shelley explicitly describes Keats as the "author of Endymion," and he mentions this specific poem on three occasions in his preface. Although Keats produced many poems, Shelley focuses on this specific work not only because it received much criticism but also to highlight several similarities between the mythical figure and the deceased poet.

In Greek mythology, Endymion was the son of Zeus and loved by the moon goddess, Selene. Because she loved the young man's appearance when he was sleeping, she entreated Zeus to put him into an eternal sleep. Romantic artists often portrayed Endymion in an androgynous manner not unlike Shelley's efforts to feminize Keats by labeling him a "sensitive spirit" and comparing him to a flower. Shelley also carries the motif of eternity throughout "Adonais," concluding in the final lines, "The soul of Adonais, like a star/ Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are" (494-495). By feminizing Keats, Shelley can honor his eternal legacy while not assuming the risk of associating the "lower poet" with himself.

The Sleep of Endymion. Girodet.