Laurel · John Keats · Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems

Ode to Psyche

John Keats (1795–1821) · 1820

iambic pentameter · 67 lines · from Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems

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O Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers, wrungBy sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,And pardon that thy secrets should be sungEven into thine own soft-conched ear:Surely I dreamt to-day, or did I seeThe winged Psyche with awaken'd eyes?I wander'd in a forest thoughtlessly,And, on the sudden, fainting with surprise,Saw two fair creatures, couched side by sideIn deepest grass, beneath the whisp'ring roofOf leaves and trembled blossoms, where there ranA brooklet, scarce espied:'Mid hush'd, cool-rooted flowers, fragrant-eyed,Blue, silver-white, and budded Tyrian,They lay calm-breathing on the bedded grass;Their arms embraced, and their pinions too;Their lips touch'd not, but had not bade adieu,As if disjoined by soft-handed slumber,And ready still past kisses to outnumberAt tender eye-dawn of aurorean love:The winged boy I knew;But who wast thou, O happy, happy dove?His Psyche true!

O latest born and loveliest vision farOf all Olympus' faded hierarchy!Fairer than Phoebe's sapphire-region'd star,Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky;Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none,Nor altar heap'd with flowers;Nor virgin-choir to make delicious moanUpon the midnight hours;No voice, no lute, no pipe, no incense sweetFrom chain-swung censer teeming;No shrine, no grove, no oracle, no heatOf pale-mouth'd prophet dreaming.

O brightest! though too late for antique vows,Too, too late for the fond believing lyre,When holy were the haunted forest boughs,Holy the air, the water, and the fire;Yet even in these days so far retir'dFrom happy pieties, thy lucent fans,Fluttering among the faint Olympians,I see, and sing, by my own eyes inspired.So let me be thy choir, and make a moanUpon the midnight hours;Thy voice, thy lute, thy pipe, thy incense sweetFrom swinged censer teeming;Thy shrine, thy grove, thy oracle, thy heatOf pale-mouth'd prophet dreaming.

Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a faneIn some untrodden region of my mind,Where branched thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:Far, far around shall those dark-cluster'd treesFledge the wild-ridged mountains steep by steep;And there by zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees,The moss-lain Dryads shall be lull'd to sleep;And in the midst of this wide quietnessA rosy sanctuary will I dressWith the wreath'd trellis of a working brain,With buds, and bells, and stars without a name,With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign,Who breeding flowers, will never breed the same:And there shall be for thee all soft delightThat shadowy thought can win,A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,To let the warm Love in!

Words in this poem 21
tuneless a.
Without tune; inharmonious; unmusical.
enforcement n.
The act of enforcing; compulsion. [Cf. OF. enforcement.]
psyche n.
A lovely maiden, daughter of a king and mistress of Eros, or Cupid. She is regarded as the personification of the soul.
scarce a.
Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
tyrian a.
Of or pertaining to Tyre or its people.
bedded a.
Provided with a bed; as, double-bedded room; placed or arranged in a bed or beds.
bade
A form of the pat tense of Bid.
outnumber v. t.
To exceed in number.
wast
The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
vesper n.
The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.]
hast
, 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
censer n.
A vessel for perfumes; esp. one in which incense is burned. [For incenser, fr. OF. encensier, F. encensoir, fr. LL. incensarium, incensorium, fr. L. incensum incense. See Incense, and cf. Incensory.]
teeming a.
Prolific; productive.
oracle v. i.
To utter oracles.
haunted a.
Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
lucent a.
Shining; bright; resplendent. [L. lucens, p. pr. of lucere to shine, fr. lux, lucis, light.]
fane n.
A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
shall v. i.
To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
fledge a.
Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly. [OE. flegge, flygge; akin to D. vlug, G. flügge, flücke, OHG. flucchi, Icel. fleygr, and to E. fly. Fly, v. i.]
gardener n.
One who makes and tends a garden; a horticulturist.
casement n.
A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Ode to Psyche is in the public domain. This text is taken from Keats: Poems Published in 1820 (Clarendon Press, 1909, ed. M. Robertson), Project Gutenberg ebook #23684; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: John Keats, Ode to Psyche, in Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems (1820), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #23684, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/keats-1820/ode-to-psyche.html, id L00186.

Form and metre

Ode to Psyche is 67 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.4 syllables. 15 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in iambic pentameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

  1. 1 ABAB-C-CD--DD--EEFFGEGE wrungA · dearB · sungA · earB · see · eyesC · thoughtlessly · surpriseC · sideD · roof · ran · espiedD · eyedD · tyrian · grass · tooE · adieuE · slumberF · outnumberF · loveG · knewE · doveG · trueE
  2. 2 A-A--B-BCDCD farA · hierarchy · starA · sky · none · flowersB · moan · hoursB · sweetC · teemingD · heatC · dreamingD
  3. 3 ABABCDDC--EFEF vowsA · lyreB · boughsA · fireB · retir'dC · fansD · olympiansD · inspiredC · moan · hours · sweetE · teemingF · heatE · dreamingF
  4. 4 ABABCDCDEEAFAFGHGH faneA · mindB · painA · windB · treesC · steepD · beesC · sleepD · quietnessE · dressE · brainA · nameF · feignA · sameF · delightG · winH · nightG · inH
Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.

LineSyl.Stress
O Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers, wrung10·/˘··/˘/˘·
By sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,10··˘/˘·˘/˘·
And pardon that thy secrets should be sung10·/˘··/˘···
Even into thine own soft-conched ear:10/˘······˘·
Surely I dreamt to-day, or did I see10/˘········
The winged Psyche with awaken'd eyes?10··˘/˘·˘/˘·
I wander'd in a forest thoughtlessly,10·/˘··/˘···
And, on the sudden, fainting with surprise,10···/˘/˘·˘/
Saw two fair creatures, couched side by side10···/˘·˘···
In deepest grass, beneath the whisp'ring roof10·/˘·······
Of leaves and trembled blossoms, where there ran10···/˘/˘···
A brooklet, scarce espied:5·/˘··
'Mid hush'd, cool-rooted flowers, fragrant-eyed,10···/˘/˘/˘·
Blue, silver-white, and budded Tyrian,10·/˘··/˘/˘˘
They lay calm-breathing on the bedded grass;10···/˘··/˘·
Their arms embraced, and their pinions too;10··˘/˘··/˘·
Their lips touch'd not, but had not bade adieu,10········˘/
As if disjoined by soft-handed slumber,10······/˘/˘
And ready still past kisses to outnumber11·/˘··/˘·˘/˘
At tender eye-dawn of aurorean love:10·/˘·······
The winged boy I knew;5·····
But who wast thou, O happy, happy dove?10·····/˘/˘·
His Psyche true!4·/˘·
O latest born and loveliest vision far11·/˘·····/˘·
Of all Olympus' faded hierarchy!11··˘/˘/˘/˘·˘
Fairer than Phoebe's sapphire-region'd star,10/˘·/˘/˘···
Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky;10·/˘/˘·····
Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none,10/˘···/˘···
Nor altar heap'd with flowers;7·/˘··/˘
Nor virgin-choir to make delicious moan10·/˘/··˘/˘·
Upon the midnight hours;7···/·/˘
No voice, no lute, no pipe, no incense sweet10·······˘/·
From chain-swung censer teeming;7···/˘/˘
No shrine, no grove, no oracle, no heat10·····/˘˘··
Of pale-mouth'd prophet dreaming.7···/˘/˘
O brightest! though too late for antique vows,10·/˘····˘/·
Too, too late for the fond believing lyre,10······˘/˘·
When holy were the haunted forest boughs,10·/˘··/˘/˘·
Holy the air, the water, and the fire;11/˘···/˘··/˘
Yet even in these days so far retir'd10·/˘·····˘/
From happy pieties, thy lucent fans,10·/˘/˘˘·/˘·
Fluttering among the faint Olympians,11/˘˘····˘/˘˘
I see, and sing, by my own eyes inspired.11········˘/˘
So let me be thy choir, and make a moan10·····/····
Upon the midnight hours;7···/·/˘
Thy voice, thy lute, thy pipe, thy incense sweet10·······˘/·
From swinged censer teeming;6··/˘/˘
Thy shrine, thy grove, thy oracle, thy heat10·····/˘˘··
Of pale-mouth'd prophet dreaming.7···/˘/˘
Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane10··········
In some untrodden region of my mind,10·····/˘···
Where branched thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,10··˘····/˘·
Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:10˘/···/˘···
Far, far around shall those dark-cluster'd trees10·······/˘·
Fledge the wild-ridged mountains steep by steep;10····˘/˘···
And there by zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees,10···/˘·····
The moss-lain Dryads shall be lull'd to sleep;9·········
And in the midst of this wide quietness10·······/˘˘
A rosy sanctuary will I dress10·/˘/˘·˘···
With the wreath'd trellis of a working brain,10···/˘··/˘·
With buds, and bells, and stars without a name,10··········
With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign,10···/˘/˘···
Who breeding flowers, will never breed the same:10·/˘/·/˘···
And there shall be for thee all soft delight10········˘/
That shadowy thought can win,7·/˘˘···
A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,10·····/˘···
To let the warm Love in!6······

On this poem

In one of his long journal-letters to his brother George, Keats writes, at the beginning of May, 1819: 'The following poem--the last I have written--is the first and the only one with which I have taken even moderate pains. I have for the most part dashed off my lines in a hurry. This I have done leisurely--I think it reads the more richly for it, and will I hope encourage me to write other things in even a more peaceable and healthy spirit. You must recollect that Psyche was not embodied as a goddess before the time of Apuleius the Platonist, who lived after the Augustan age, and consequently the goddess was never worshipped or sacrificed to with any of the ancient fervour, and perhaps never thought of in the old religion--I am more orthodox than to let a heathen goddess be so neglected.' The Ode to Psyche follows.

The story of Psyche may be best told in the words of William Morris in the 'argument' to 'the story of Cupid and Psyche' in his Earthly Paradise:

'Psyche, a king's daughter, by her exceeding beauty caused the people to forget Venus; therefore the goddess would fain have destroyed her: nevertheless she became the bride of Love, yet in an unhappy moment lost him by her own fault, and wandering through the world suffered many evils at the hands of Venus, for whom she must accomplish fearful tasks. But the gods and all nature helped her, and in process of time she was re-united to Love, forgiven by Venus, and made immortal by the Father of gods and men.'

Psyche is supposed to symbolize the human soul made immortal through love.
Notes from the edition 13

Introduction and notes by M. Robertson, Keats: Poems Published in 1820 (Clarendon Press, 1909).

  1. Stanza 1, line 2 sweet . . . dear. Cf. Lycidas, 'Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear.'
  2. Stanza 1, line 4 soft-conched. Metaphor of a sea-shell giving an impression of exquisite colour and delicate form.
  3. Stanza 1, line 13 'Mid . . . eyed. Nature in its appeal to every sense. In this line we have the essence of all that makes the beauty of flowers satisfying and comforting.
  4. Stanza 1, line 14 Tyrian, purple, from a certain dye made at Tyre.
  5. Stanza 1, line 20 aurorean. Aurora is the goddess of dawn. Cf. Hyperion, i. 181.
  6. Stanza 2, line 2 Olympus. Cf. Lamia, i. 9, note.

    hierarchy. The orders of gods, with Jupiter as head.
  7. Stanza 2, line 3 Phoebe, or Diana, goddess of the moon.
  8. Stanza 2, line 4 Vesper, the evening star.
  9. Stanza 2, line 11 oracle, a sacred place where the god was supposed to answer questions of vital import asked him by his worshippers.
  10. Stanza 3, line 2 fond believing, foolishly credulous.
  11. Stanza 3, line 6 lucent fans, luminous wings.
  12. Stanza 4, line 6 fledge . . . steep. Probably a recollection of what he had seen in the Lakes, for on June 29, 1818, he writes to Tom from Keswick of a waterfall which 'oozes out from a cleft in perpendicular Rocks, all fledged with Ash and other beautiful trees'.
  13. Stanza 4, line 8 Dryads. Cf. Lamia, l. 5, note.

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