Endymion: A Poetic Romance

The primary myth of the poem is that of Endymion, complicated by the countless versions of the story. The basic myth is that the man Endymion, being both beautiful and in a profession that requires him to be in the presence of the moon, is beloved by the goddess Selene. Selene, through her own magic or by requesting help from other gods, puts Endymion to sleep, so that she can love him in dreams. In turn, Endymion falls in love with the goddess while dreaming. In most versions of the story, Endymion never wakes up, and is eternally young in repose. This poem became an inspiration for many visual arts, with the sleeping Endymion visited by the goddess becoming a common theme of painting, sculpture, and carved relief throughout Greek, Roman, and Romantic art.

In his new version of the Endymion myth, with elements pulled from many sources, Keats utilizes both Greek and Roman myths, along with their different spellings (Vesper and Hesperus, Persephone and Porsepine). Romanticism, especially British Romanticism, draws heavily from Eastern Mediterranean mythology, often without distinction, as the classics. By utilizing several different spellings and names for the same beings, Keats evokes the experience of reading different anthologized myths in works such as collected translations of Greek and Latin texts as well as Romantic and Humanist writing such as John Milton’s “Lycidas.”

Furthering this experience are references to literary myths, myths which when referred to indicate a specific text the reader is expected to know. Allusions such as the Argonauts and their journey both indicate the works of Greek authors such as Apollonius of Rhodes, as well as contemporaries of Keats like John Lemprière. The allusions also extend to the historical: the battle of Thermopylae is recorded and retold in the works of Herodotus, blurring the line between history and myth, and enfolding both in the concept of the classics.

Other, specific, mythological figures are of importance to the poem not for allusive quality, but for their significance in the narrative of the poem. Pan, satyr god of nature, is a patron of shepherds, and therefore the god that Endymion and his sister attend the rituals of. In Christianity, depictions of the devil often derive from images of Pan, with the goat-like god standing in in many cases for Satan as a departure from civilization and a return to pagan wantonness. The poem refuses this line of reasoning, celebrating Pan and his love of beauty. Other forms of mythic beauty, such as the nymphs, naiads, and oreads, as well specific beautiful beings like Ganymede and Echo, are shown to be positive forces in the world of the poem, examples to be followed and aides to Endymion and Peona.

The love of beauty being a moral quality is a common refrain in British Romantic poetry, as well as Greek Philosophy. Plato’s famous question, “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” can be considered much of the source of this mythic form. The gods love beautiful things, and, because they are loved by the gods, beautiful things reflect goodness. Mythic stories where beauty is associated with hubris and downfall, such as Narcissus, Ariadne, and the Judgement of Paris, are omitted from the world of Keats’s poetic allusions.