Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

An Updated Take on Keats’s Odes by Anahid Nersessian

By Glynn Young 2 Comments

Plum Blossom Keats Anahid Nersessian

Anahid Nersessian looks at Keats’s six great odes with a contemporary eye

You never quite know what you’re going to get yourself into these days with literary criticism.

I should say up front that I belong to an old school of literature. I wasn’t an English major, but I sat with them through two semesters of English Lit in college, while 99.999 percent of the other students took the general, mainly American, literature courses. My two-volume Norton Anthology of English Literature, now more than half a century old, sits on a bookshelf, complete with my underlines and marginal scribblings. I still use my Norton as a reference, and I may ask to have it buried with me when the time comes. I even have my textbook from high school senior English, and I still use it as a reference as well.

My midterm exam in second-semester English lit was three pages of lines and phrases from the poetry of John Keats, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Shelly and George Lord Byron — and I had to identify the author of each line or fragment. Some of the English majors flunked the exam. No one got an A. I was downright thrilled to get a B-.

I read a lot of poetry, and I read, or used to, a lot of general literary criticism. But I find myself reading less criticism than before. It’s changed, profoundly so. Much of it is now written through various “lenses,” lenses of topical and usually political shades. Perhaps this is what academic critics have to do these days, if they want their work accepted and printed by academic and general publishers.

Keats Odes A Lovers DiscourseI began reading Keats’s Odes: A Lover’s Discourse by Anahid Nersessian knowing two things. First, the author is a professor of English literature at UCLA. She’s also written The Calamity Form: On Poetry and Social Life (2022) and Utopia, Limited: Romanticism and Adjustment (2015), and she’s been published in numerous scholarly journals.

The second thing I knew when I began reading, judging by the book description, was that she loves Keats. After finishing her book, I would say that, yes, she does indeed love Keats.

What surprised me was that the work is a self-described feminist/Marxist analysis of Keats’s six odes. That was not in the book description.

Nersessian is an excellent, engaging writer, even for non-academics like myself. She doesn’t write in academic jargon, and I think it was that, more than anything, that convinced me to read the book through to the end.

And so you know, some of the brightest of the literary lights raved about the book. The Boston Globe named it one of the best books of 2021. It was a finalist for the Poetry Foundation’s Pegasus Award for criticism. It received raves from Commonweal, The Nation, The Los Angeles Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, the Washington Post, and Publishers Weekly.

Anahid Nersessian

Anahid Nersessian

Neanderthal Baby Boomer that I am, my first thought, as I began reading, was that Karl Marx wasn’t even 3 years old when Keats died of tuberculosis in Rome. I know, I’m a cretin; I don’t understand how Marxist criticism works. My second thought was that Marxist thought, in practice or real life, was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people. I know, I’m worse than a cretin; I’m a conservative cretin.

What almost killed the book for me were the discursions into the personal. I didn’t need to know about the graphic pictures a former boyfriend sent by text. Too much information there. And I didn’t understand the connection of the texts to Keats. But, still, I read on. And I finished it. I’m actually glad I did.

I can repeat that Nersessian does indeed love Keats’s poetry. She lives and breathes his words and lines. She does offer fine insights into his work, aside from the Marxist and feminist lenses. And Keats has gotten her through some tough experiences.

I love Keats’s poetry as well, but I exist in a very different world. I love how he uses language. I love the sheer beauty of his poems. I thoroughly enjoy reading about the Romantic period and Keats’s place within it. And the romantic tragedy of his illness and death, leaving his great love Fanny Brawne behind, breaks my heart.

And I know I have reached the age where I can disregard the lenses of Marx and the others, and I can leave the contemporary critics to offer and enjoy other kinds of interpretations.

But I wonder whether they really enjoy what a poet like Keats has to say, beyond their own personaI concerns (and phone texts). I think what I’m trying to say is that the work of Keats and other great poets exists beyond our current lenses, feelings, and experiences. They are great poets because of their command of language and how they continue to speak to the human condition, and that’s more important than all the various lenses in the world combined.

I hope that’s something we never forget.

Related:

A Month with Keats: A Walk into His Life

A Month with Keats: Keats and Hampstead Heath

A Month with Keats: Poetry, Religion, and Politics

A Month with Keats: Keats and Wentworth House

In Praise of Small Museums

Photo by llee_wu, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young.

Browse more book reviews

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan

5 star

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

How to Read a Poem uses images like the mouse, the hive, the switch (from the Billy Collins poem)—to guide readers into new ways of understanding poems. Anthology included.

“I require all our incoming poetry students—in the MFA I direct—to buy and read this book.”

—Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Poets and Poems: Marly Youmans and “Seren of the Wildwood” - March 28, 2023
  • Poets and Poems: Sydell Rosenberg & Amy Losak and “Wing Strokes Haiku” - March 21, 2023
  • Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition - March 17, 2023

Filed Under: article, book reviews, Books, John Keats, Ode Poems, Poems, Poets

Get Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Mary Sayler says

    March 14, 2023 at 9:46 am

    Good article, Glynn – timely too and the ending excelled: “…the work of Keats and other great poets exists beyond our current lenses, feelings, and experiences. They are great poets because of their command of language and how they continue to speak to the human condition, and that’s more important than all the various lenses in the world combined.” Amen!

    I’m so glad to see this topic addressed. We seem to be in a time when people in general have become judgmental without meaning to, simply because they hold other eras and ages to views commonly accepted today.

    Reply
    • Glynn says

      March 14, 2023 at 11:02 am

      Mary, thank you. I often wonder how future generations, including my grandchildren, will look back on this era.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • Laurie Klein on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 04—A Plausible Story
  • Bethany on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 04—A Plausible Story
  • L.L. Barkat on 50 States of Generosity- New Jersey
  • 50 States of Generosity- New Jersey - Tweetspeak Poetry on Poetry at Work: The Doctor—William Carlos Williams

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT