"Ode to Psyche" - John Keats

John Keats’ choice to write about the story of Psyche evokes the desire of many of his contemporaries in the Romantic Era to return to the Classics. The idealistic portrayal of undying love was a sentiment expressed in many Romantic poems. From the first few lines of Ode to Psyche, one can tell that Keats has a reverence for love. He begins by humbling himself before the subject. He calls out to Psyche (“Oh Goddess!”) and entreats her to listen to his poem that he refers to as “tuneless numbers”.  He goes further by asking her to “pardon” him for sharing her secrets even if she is the only one who hears (“And pardon that thy secrets should be sung, even into thine own soft-conched ear.”) It is almost as though he holds her story in such high esteem that, to him, it may be too holy or precious to tell. 

As if deciding that it is too important of a story to be left untold, he continues. What he witnessed what so unbelievable, he thought that “surely” he was dreaming (“Surely I dreamt today or did I see…”). He saw Psyche with wings and “awakened eyes.” This description of Psyche insinuates that she was in the form of a Goddess.

            According to the myth of Psyche, she was a human who was so beautiful that men worshipped her rather than the Goddess Aphrodite. This greatly anger Aphrodite, and she ordered her son, Cupid, to force Psyche to fall in love with the most hideous man on Earth. Instead of following his mother’s command, Cupid fell in love with Psyche, and took her away to his palace. He told Psyche that she must never look at him. However, one night, Psyche disobeyed him. Because of this, Cupid left her, and in order to get him back, Psyche had to prove her love by completing extremely difficult tasks. This involved a trip to the Underworld: she literally went to Hell and back to prove her love for Cupid. When her tasks were finished, she was granted immorality so that she could be with him. She had won it through her unconditional love.

            The poet now sees her in her immortal glory with her lover. He describes them as “calm-breathing” as they lay on the grass, which evokes a sense of peace. Their trials are over and they can be together without fear of punishment. Equality is represented through the description of their body language: “ Their arms embraced, and their pinions too.” They both have wings (“pinions”); therefore, they are both immortals. However, Keats points out that he has heard of Cupid (“The winged boy I knew”), but had not heard mention of Psyche (“But who wast thou, O happy, happy dove? His Psyche true!”). His reference to Cupid is somewhat flippant (“boy”) compared to that of Psyche.  A dove is considered a holy, pure creature. Also, when he refers to her as “true”, it evokes faithfulness.

            After giving Psyche much praise, claiming that she is the “loveliest vision far of all Olympus’ faded hierarchy”, he ponders why she, though the most deserving of all immortals, was never worshipped like the others (“though temple hast thou none…”). Because she had missed the opportunity to be worshipped (“…too late for antique vows, Too, too late for the fond believing lyre…these days so far retired…”), Keats offers to be her priest and to build temple for her in his mind (“I will be thy priest and build a fane, in some untrodden region of my mind.”) This is his way of honoring what he views as an ideal example of love. It is as if he wants to travel back in time to provide a safe haven when the lovers were in need of it (“A rosy sanctuary will I dress… And there shall be for thee all soft delight that shadowy thought can win, a bright torch, and a casement ope at night, to let the warm Love in!”) - Chamblee Smith