Topic > Literary Analysis of John Keats' Sonnet 'On Fame'

John Keats' sonnet written in April 1819, entitled 'On Fame', appears at first reading to be a love poem. Upon closer reading, it becomes clear that Keats uses women as a simile for the nature of fame, contrasting them with one another. Keats uses phrases such as "like a rebellious girl" and "she is very gipsey" to show the similarities between courting women and trying too hard to gain fame. Another possible reason why Keats created a similarity between fame and women is that he was criticizing men's obsession with the glitz and glamor of fame, their desire to be known and admired. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay After analysis, we can see that Keats used the form of a Shakespearean sonnet for “On Fame,” which he wrote using three quatrains, which followed the rhyming scheme of ABAB, CDCD, and EFEF. Which is then followed by a couplet to finish the sonnet, which as we know has the rhyming scheme of 'gg'. Along with the standard Shakespearean sonnet format, the rhythm or meter of Keats's sonnet was in the nature of iambic pentameter which, as we know, has ten syllables per line dividing into five feet, with the pattern of atonatic and then stressed syllables. In "On Fame" the main underlying theme seems to be man's all-knowing need to be noticed and admired, even if this is seen by many as thoughtless and distasteful. Keats even goes so far as to state that fame "will not speak to those who have not learned to be content without it." This idea is further supported by the lines "ye lovesick bards" and "ye artists in love" which suggest that many artists were so caught up in the idea of ​​becoming famous for their work, that their greed and desire was evident and they were therefore the reason why they had not achieved notoriety for their work. A particularly interesting idea is that Keats uses the Shakespearean sonnet format to write about fame, in which he attempts to shame the other Romantic poets, and yet continues to write poetry in the aforementioned challenging format. Keats's sly quips of calling his colleagues "unhappy fools" suggest that perhaps he was fed up with his fellow artists obsessing over how, when, and what they could do to become famous. Which implies that if they were true artists they would simply be content with the work they produced and sit back and let fame choose them. Through some background research one can understand that "jealous Potiphar's sister-in-law" does not actually refer to the sister of Potiphar's wife. Although Keats seems to use it as a metaphor and instead compares fame to Potiphar's wife's attempt to seduce another man, and when that fails, she accuses him of rape and asks Potiphar to throw him in prison. We have taken this to mean that the allure of fame is seductive although it can change quickly and cause terrible things to happen, and so the allure of fame is similar to the deception of Potiphar's wife, making them sisters-in-law. This is further supported by Keats referring to fame if "she is a gypsy". Gypsies are a nomadic people who travel for a variety of reasons, but in this context it can be understood that Keats used this to symbolize the ever fleeting nature of fame, always moving on to the next person, with anyone who is currently famous being left behind for someone better. Keats also uses the term "Nilus Born" to perhaps create a recurring motif for the ever-changing nature of fame, alongside the "gypsey", with Nilus being the god of the River Nile. In the.