What Does John Keats Mean By Negative Capability?

Keats coined the term negative capability in a letter he wrote to his brothers George and Tom in 1817. Inspired by Shakespeare’s work, he describes it as “

being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.”

What is negative capability examples?

‘ Keats regarded

Shakespeare

as the prime example of negative capability, attributing to him the ability to identify completely with his characters, and to write about them with empathy and understanding; he contrasts this with the partisan approach of Milton and the ‘wordsworthian or egotistical sublime’ (Letter to …

What do you mean by negative capability?

Negative capability, a writer’s ability, “

which Shakespeare possessed so enormously,”

to accept “uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason,” according to English poet John Keats, who first used the term in an 1817 letter.

What does Keats’s idea of negative capability suggest?

What Is Keats’ Theory of Negative Capability? The concept of negative capability pertains to

the ability to live within the penetralium of mystery or deal with unanswered questions

. Not every event—especially in fiction—needs to (or will) have a direct, satisfying explanation.

What is negative capability in Ode to a Nightingale?

In the concept of negative capability and in the poem exists the possibility that we might, in art at least, remain unbound by our limited human conception of existence—that

the nightingale could sing past death

and, in so doing, momentarily free the poet from the fact of his mortality.

Why is negative capability important?

So negative capability is important as a wellspring of our humanity and

an explanation of how periods of indolence give rise to periods of creativity

.

What is egotistical sublime?

The egotistical sublime, as we gather from Keats and Hazlitt, is.

an overwhelming public assertion of the poet’s self and identity

, a burden. of character that denies the integrity of the object outside of it.

Who coined the term egotistical sublime?

A phrase coined by

Keats

to describe his version of Wordsworth’s distinctive genius.

Who said poetry is the criticism of life?

Mathew Arnold’s

importance in the history of English literary criticism is acknowledged by one and all. His greatness lies in the fact that he had a definite aim in writing poetry. He clearly stated this aim and tied to conform to his aim. It was “a criticism of life”.

Who said poetry should be great and unobtrusive?

Keats

himself seems a victim of the other when he writes: ‘Poetry should be great & unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one’s soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself but with its subject.

Who is associated with negative capability?

Keats

coined the term negative capability in a letter he wrote to his brothers George and Tom in 1817. Inspired by Shakespeare’s work, he describes it as “being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.”

What is a chameleon poet?

The ‘chameleon poet’ is a phrase immediately associated with Keats. … Not only has the chameleon been compared to poets, playwrights and actors, but the creature has been used in a figurative sense to describe a form of self endowed with .

the ability to change

.

What did Keats say about Shakespeare?

“

At once it struck me, what quality went to form a Man of Achievement, especially in literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously

,” he wrote. “I mean Negative Capability, that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.”

What is the theme of the poem Ode to a Nightingale?

The tone of the poem rejects the optimistic pursuit of pleasure found within Keats’s earlier poems and, instead, explores the themes of

nature, transience and mortality

, the latter being particularly relevant to Keats. The nightingale described experiences a type of death but does not actually die.

What is escapism in Ode to a Nightingale?

Escapism is the

English Romantic Movement as affirmation by

Keats and many other poets. Escapists run away from harsh, unpleasant facts and duties, thus try to hide themselves in their idle world of dream and peace. … “Ode to a Nightingale” is a poem of escape into the dreamland cast up by Keats’ romantic imagination.

Which of the following writers is noted for what Keats called negative capability?