On the Sonnet by John Keats Poem Analysis

John Keats’s poem ‘If by dull rhymes’ was one of his last poems before he passed away incredibly young, which is believed to have been composed sometime in the year 1818. It is famously known by two names, ‘If by dull rhymes’ and ‘On the sonnet’ and in comparison, to his earlier poems, is slightly different in terms of the message it holds. This specific poem examines and challenges the poetic form, specifically focusing on the structural demands and restrictions revolving around it, created by both Shakespeare and Petrarch who are famously linked to sonnets. Though Keats breaks the traditional sonnet form to prove his point, both form and structure relate to meaning heavily. This concept is based on the fact that Keats still abides to some rules of the sonnet, however, uses allusion to enhance his opinions and beliefs throughout.

Throughout the entire sonnet he continuously challenges, questions, and ignores the conventional rhyming patterns, this is achieved as he creates his own pattern to illustrate that regardless of whether a sonnet follows the Shakespearean or Petrarchan form, it can still be a viewed as one. John Keats’s poem is an example of bending these rules as he refuses to follow either form in terms of their rhyme scheme however challenges this as mentioned previously, following the pattern of ABC ABD CABC DEDE. Despite writing in iambic pentameter, this is also broken in line six which only contains nine syllables, in addition, the meter does not fit either as it is only four iambs rather than five. Regardless of these slight alterations, the sonnet still works as readers are able to decipher the message which he aims to get across.

Attention is drawn to the structure along with the traditions of sonnets immediately as he writes of his personal belief that the form and structures are profoundly restricted by rules and despite these working for other poets, they are not necessarily essential when it comes to creating beautiful pieces of poetry. With this cleverly crafted sonnet, he proves that it is possible to work around them and still create poetry for readers to enjoy reading, as well as writing about something they care deeply about. He begins his poem by opening with “If by dull rhymes, our English must be chain’d” which immediately informs the reader that he feels chain and constrained due to the rules which are in turn making poems appear “dull” and almost meaningless as it takes way the joy he once felt when writing them. 

To back up his points, John Keats makes heavy use of allusion throughout his sonnet as this enables him to create powerful imagery which assists to vividly represent the doomed fate of poetry to his readers; with the lines “and like Andromeda, the sonnet sweet| fettered in spite of pained loveliness” he states that if poetry continues to follow the dull form of either Petrarchan or Shakespearean sonnets in addition to being bound by rules, then eventually, they will be condemned to losing their beauty due to being heavily restricted in terms of its freedom. He achieves this by citing the myth of Andromeda, who according to Greek mythology was a beautiful woman left chained to a rock to be destroyed by a sea monster. Using this allusion creates a connection with the reader, evoking feelings of sympathy within them for the chained poem by relating it to that of a girl tied up and left alone with no one to help. 

He also refers to Midas, further enhancing his point which can found in the tenth line “Misers of sound and syllable, no less| Than Midas of his coinage.” Midas according to Greek mythology, was very concerned with his admiration for gold, as he wished that anything he touched would turn into gold however, this later became a curse for him, by using this allusion Keats is stating that if poets continue to pay more attention to the rhyme and form of the sonnet then it too will become a curse for them as they are very limited with the work they produce. Just as Midas learned he should not value gold too much, poets should use his story as a reference and not value the structure too much either, as the outcome may not always satisfy them. 

Along with similes, imagery and allusion, Keats also uses techniques such as personification as he refers to the poem as “she” in the last line of his sonnet. The use of the allusion to Andromeda links into this personification and has an immense impact as readers are able to view the sonnet as a physical being who is chained and left with no freedom, begging to be freed. These techniques all work hand in hand together in making the poem as powerful as it is, thus creating the feeling of sympathy for the poem which could be speaking through Keats’s words, expressing its own feelings of being trapped and wanting to break free from its shackles and see what it can accomplish.

It is clear that Keats enjoys sonnets as they are successful based on their form, rhyme scheme and the way in which they deliver a message as well as emotions across to a reader. He, however, does not appreciate the fact that people rely on sonnets purely as a means of successful poetry when successful poetry, according to Keats, can take any form and should therefore not be reliant on them. Keats believes the form of the sonnet is heavily restricted as writers must pay a great deal of attention to the rhyme schemes created by Petrarch and Shakespeare which may not always have the desired outcomes.

To summarise, Keats successfully proves that the traditional form is not always necessary through his poem in which he uses neither form, instead altering them yet manages to convey his message effectively. However, despite critiquing the form and structure, we can see that Keats has still in fact abided to some of the rules such as the line limit and using a rhyme scheme throughout. The final two lines “so, if we may not let the muse be free/ she will be bound with garlands of her own” show Keats acceptance that he cannot entirely disregard these structures as they aid in making a sonnet meaningful and therefore if he wants to create a powerful sonnet then he must accommodate some of these rules which he does based on the line structure and mostly following iambic pentameter.