To the Nile by John Keats

To the Nile          

 By John Keats

The poem

Son of the old Moon-mountains African!

Chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile!

We call thee fruitful, and that very while

A desert fills our seeing’s inward span:

Nurse of swart nations since the world began,

Art thou so fruitful or dost thou beguile

Such men to honour thee, who, worn with toil,

Rest for a space “twixt Cairo and Decan?

O may dark fancies err! They surely do;

‘Tis ignorance that makes a barren waste

Of all beyond itself.  Thou dost bedew

Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste

The pleasant sunrise.  Green isles hast thou too,

And to the sea as happily dost haste.

 

 

John Keats

John Keats, (born October 31, 1795, London, England—died February 23, 1821, Rome, Papal States [Italy]), English Romantic lyric poet who devoted his short life to the perfection of a poetry marked by vivid imagery, great sensuous appeal, and an attempt to express a philosophy through classical legend.

John Keats was an English Romantic lyric poet whose verse is known for its vivid imagery and great sensuous appeal. His reputation grew after his early death, and he was greatly admired in the Victorian Age. His influence can be seen in the poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and the Pre-Raphaelites, among others.

John Keats wrote sonnets, odes, and epics. All his greatest poetry was written in a single year, 1819: “Lamia,” “The Eve of St. Agnes,” the great odes (“On Indolence,” “On a Grecian Urn,” “To Psyche,” “To a Nightingale,” “On Melancholy,” and “To Autumn”), and the two unfinished versions of an epic on Hyperion.

John Keats died of tuberculosis in Rome in 1821 at the age of 25.

 

 

Summary of the poem

To the Nile is a sonnet by John Keats.  It is about the Nile River in Egypt.  The poet addresses the Nile directly.  Historically, the Nile is the oldest civilization in the world.  Geographically it is the longest river in Africa.  In this poem the author cares the Nile as son of the old African moon mountain as it originates from the Moon Mountains.  Next he says that the Pyramids tombs were made with huge block of strong stones.  These strong stones were transported along the Nile, so it is right to call the Nile the chief of the Pyramids.  River Nile is the largest place for crocodiles.  They enjoy on the banks of River Nile.  They are strong and related to the God Osiris.

In the third line he says “fruitful” it is true the Nile not only provides food, from agriculture, but also serves as a good mode of transport for the people.  The Nile represents as a symbol of fertility according to Egyptian mythology. “Inward span” means inner vision or imagination.  Our imagination is about desert while we look at the use of the river.  Thus fruitfulness and bareness exist side by side.  It is a part of nature.  “Nurse of thee swat nation” River Nile has given life to the dark nations.  It has given life to many countries.

Keats refers to temples of Osiris built by his wife Isis to enshrine various part of his slain body scattered all over the Nile.  The poet thinks of the magical charm of the Nile which makes the people to consider it as a holy river.  The Nile rests between Cairo and Deccan.  Cairo is the place where it the rivers ends.  Deccan is the place where the river begins, also Deccan refers to a group of constellations.  So we can say the River Nile rests between land and sky “Dark fancies” his imagination took him to the beautiful lands of ancient Egypt of Pyramids, Pharaohs and great Nile with its legends. 

He now explores the Nile and says, “Its ignorance that makes a barren waste of all beyond itself” due to their ignorance their imagination consists of huge pyramids and large desserts.  In the lasts few lines, “Thou…. Happily dost haste” the poet sees the beauty of the River.  He compares the Nile to “Our Rivers” where the long leaves are decorated with dew or drops of mist.  The River tastes “pleasant sunrise and contains “Green Isles”, “Hapi” was the god of flood in Egyptian mythology.

 

Sonnet

It is a sonnet written by John Keats. According to history river is the cradle of one of the oldest civilizations in the world. A sonnet is a one-stanza, 14-line poem, written in iambic pentameter

Features of Sonnet:

All sonnets have 14 lines, which can be broken down into four sections called quatrains.

The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet, for example, is ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG.

Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, a poetic meter with 10 beats per line made up of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables. The poem is written in the second person, the poetic person addresses a personified Nile directly as a sentient being.

To the Nile is a great sonnet by John Keats. It is in the form of Petrarchan style.  This sonnet contains 14 lines, first 8 is in Octave and next six is in Sestet.  The last ninth line is in Volta.  The Nile is the longest river which was the cradle to form the ancient civilization.  The poet day dreams about the Nile and the myths related to the Great Nile.

Detail analysis of the poem

 

“Son of the old Moon-mountains African!

John Keats starts with a personification.  He gives a pretty introduction to the Nile as the son of old Moon mountains of Africa.  The Nile originates from the mountain in East Africa.  He glorify the river as god. He calls the mountains are its parents.

 

 “Chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile”

The Nile is described as the chief of the pyramids, and crocodile. Pyramid and crocodile connect to ancient Egyptians who construct pyramids to bury and preserve the dead bodies of their kings and Queens. They are built with huge blocks of stones so it is so hard carry.  According to history the large blocks of stones are carried by the river Nile to construct the pyramids. So it’s apt to compare the Nile to the Pyramids. The poet compares (hyperbole) and exaggerates the living Nile to the non-living pyramids.

World’s largest species of crocodile could be seen in the river Nile.  The crocodiles are regarded as the God of Osiris   are considered as the God of Osiris legends. In this comparison the poet has made a contrast where the pyramids are non- living and the crocodiles are living.

We call thee fruitful, and that very while

A desert fills our seeing’s inward span:

“Nurse of Swart nation since the world began”

 

In these line the poet expresses his doubts over the fruitfulness of the river as it run over the desert of Sudan and Egypt.  He is confused with the fruitfulness and bareness of desert. How there could be fertile river and bareness side by side, this thoughts confuses the poet. The idea is a kind of contrast imagination of the poet. The Nile is personifies as a protector of Swart Nations.  It refers to the people of Africa.   The Nile is regarded as a life giver or source of life for people. It gives them food and meaning for their life.

 

“Art thou so fruitful? or dost thou beguile

Such men to honour thee, who, worn with toil,

Rest for a space 'twixt Cairo and Decan?”

 

He questions again about the powers of the river.  May be the poet refers to the temples dedicated to Osiris. Actually the temples are built by Isis, the wife of Osiris.  She built to glorify the parts of the slain body of him which were scattered along the river by his brother Seth who killed him. Also there is a belief that Hapi the chief God of flood brings fertility. So people prays and comes to this nature God to find comfort and share their tears of poverty and hard work.  The poet the river rest between Cairo and Deccan.  The two ends of the river cover about five countries.

 “O may dark fancies err! They surely do;

'Tis ignorance that makes a barren waste

Of all beyond itself”

The second part starts here.  The 9^th line called Volta is a change of opinion.  The poet who comes to reality from his day dream doubts as dark fancies which could be erroneous.  He says myths and gods are fancies. He agrees that doubting could show ones ignorance.  It cannot bring out the wisdom of a person.

 

“Thou dost bedew

Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste

The pleasant sunrise. Green isles hast thou too,

And to the sea as happily dost haste”

 Last lines give a conclusion.  The poet praises the beauty of the river irrespective of its nature.  It could be fruitful or dangerous, but the beauty is surpassing.  They are full green water reeds and small greenish islands and flows happily.  The visual image such as “the river also tastes pleasant sunrise” gives a beautiful picturesque view to the readers. The poet describes the Nile which consists of “green isles” to show the abundant beauty of luh greenery.  But this contrast the barren desert in his previous lines.

  “To the Nile” is written in the form of Petrarchan or sonnet, it is written in iambic pentameter, it is written in the second person,  the course of flowing from Sahara mountain to the Mediterranean sea and how caused Egypt to become  a fertile Oasis with a desert.   The poem is a friendly Sonnet. The entire Sonnet has a single period to show the non – stop movement of the river. It’s a nature poem.

It contains Octave (first eight lines) rhyming abbaabba and Sestet (next 6 lines rhyming cdcdcd.) There is a Volta or turn from octave to Sestet.  The third line is a run on line as it links with the fourth in the next. The poem with a proper usage of language show the two contrast views of the Nile.  The poet brings out the fruitfulness as it is the basic source of life.

Thus, the poem helps us to see the fertility and the beauty of rivers. But the beauty faces pollution due to our irresponsible activities.

 Thank you