To The Nile
By John Keats
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.
Summary of To The Nile
- Popularity of “To The Nile”: Written by the great Romantic English poet John Keats, this beautiful poem first appeared in 1918 but could not witness the light of the day until 1838, when he was long dead. When he composed it, he was just a young man aged 22. The beauty of the sonnet is not only in the information that Keats has displayed about world affairs and geography but also in the melody and ideas.
- “To The Nile” As a Representative of Nature and Beauty: The poet, who happens to be the speaker of the poem, presents the River Nile as the greatest manifestation of nature, being the son of the mountains and the main source of the world’s great monuments and creatures. Calling it the chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile, the poet goes on to call it fruitful, imagining that it waters the deserts, valleys, and “swart nations” that fall in its ambit. Due to the prolonged course of the river, the poem sees the river beguiling the people and winning honor through its zigzag course.
However, it is interesting to note that Keats is aware of Cairo and Decan but not aware of the distance between the two locations. It could be that Keats is aware of his own ignorance that he does not know much about the river. Therefore, he concludes the sonnet saying that it falls into the sea after making some green isles. - Major Themes in “To The Nile”: The beauty of nature, the inscrutability of the river and poetic fancy are major thematic strands of the sonnet “To The Nile.” Although the poet has termed the Nile a mythical figure after he personifies it, he presents the beauty of nature by showing that it fills the desert and waters the nations. He is of the view that this river has been there since time immemorial. Yet, the poet questions the inscrutability of the river showing that it is uncertain how the men take rest when traveling and how it waters the nations. The thoughts of men could be based on ignorance though he seems sure that before falling into the river, it must have formed several green isles. Making this earth a good place, the river becomes happy when falling into the river. The poetic fancy sees the river making lands fertile and going into the sea to merge in the larger scheme of things.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in To The Nile
John Keats’s use of literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem is superb. Some of the major literary devices in this poem are as follows.
- Allusion: It means to use references from society, history, or culture to stress upon the main idea. The poet used the allusion of Geographies such as Africa, the Pyramid, and of zoology, such as Crocodiles, or of cities such as Cairo and Decan.
- Alliteration: It means to use initial consonants in successive words. The poem shows the use of consonant sounds such as /w/ in “who worn.”
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o/ in “Son of the old Moon-mountains African” and the sound of /e/ and /o/ in “Such men to honour thee, who, worn with toil.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /s/ and /n/ in “Nurse of swart nations since the world began” and the sound of /r/ and /t/ in “Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. John Keats used imagery in this poem, such as “A desert fills our seeing’s inward span”, “O may dark fancies err! They surely do” and “Of all beyond itself. Thou dost bedew.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used the metaphor birth and sibling for the river Nile.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of the river as a beguiling person.
- Rhetorical Question: It means to show or use a question not to elicit an answer but to tress upon the main theme. The poem shows the use of a rhetorical question, such as:
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?
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as the moon, Africa, Pyramid, and Crocodile to show the deceptiveness of the river Nile.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in To The Nile
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and melodic diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. John Keats shows the use of end rhymes such as African/span and crocodile/while.
- Quatrain: It is a Persian stanza having four verses. The poem shows the use of a quatrain such as the first stanza.
- Rhyme Scheme: This poem shows the rhyme scheme of ABBAABA in its octave and EFEFEE in its sestet.
- Poem: This is a fourteen-lined poem that is called a sonnet.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas; the first octave comprises eight verses, and the second sestet comprises six verses, as shown in Rhyme Scheme.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a pedantic, erudite, and reassuring tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about some geographical facts or giving some information through poetry.
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 f
The pleasant sunrise. Green isles hast thou too,
And to the sea as happily dost haste.
