“I Have So Much To Learn”: ˡ The Poet in “Ode to Psyche” Zury Andrade College

Much like how Paradise Lost by John Milton is easily misunderstood without knowledge of Christian theology, much of Keats’s poetry is easily misread without a passing knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology. This is especially true in “Ode to Psyche”, in which the speaker ponders on the lack of a cult towards Psyche and his own desire to become her “priest”. More importantly, by regarding Psyche as the most beautiful of the Greek goddesses, Keats makes a bold statement regarding how even though he is young too, he is capable of surpassing the poets that came before him. In light of this, the poem can then be interpreted as Keats’s statement of his own poetical prospects and ambitions, and about his own confidence on his growth as a poet.

“Ode to Psyche” begins with a self-deprecating yet bold statement: “Oh goddess! Hear this tuneless numbers”. The lyrical I of the poem, before anything else, acknowledges that his lines are not good enough. This is clearer in lines 3-4: “And pardon that thy secrets should be sung / Even into thine own soft-conched ear”. The poet knows that Psyche already knows what he is to say, and yet he still calls for her attention, still clamors an “Oh goddess”. Here Keats recognizes not only to Psyche but...