Comparing Keats And Smith, Two Peas In A Pod

Keats and Smith, Two Peas in a Pod
The presence of sleep and night are often seen in John Keats' and Charlotte Smith's works. John Keats was a lonely man, who was talked down to by critics his whole career. Charlotte Smith, although married with twelve children, is often thought of as unhappy. Both poets saw the night and sleep as an escape from reality which is present in "To Sleep", "The Night", and "Ode to the Nightingale". Charlotte Smith wrote “To Sleep” as a reflection on her own life. Smith, the speaker in the poem, contemplates life and death. Throughout the three stanzas she talks about her need for sleep, but remembering the stresses of her own reality, stays awake. Smith says: “And the poor sea boy, in the rudest hour, Enjoys thee more than he who wears a crown.” In this quote you can see the speaker’s jealousy for the carefree peasant. The peasant sleeps
John Keats was never appreciated while alive for his work, never found true love, and suffered loss in his life through the death of his brother. Overall, he was a very lonely and depressed man. “Ode to the Nightingale” is believed to have been written after the passing of his brother. Throughout the poem Keats contemplates weather it would be easier to go to heaven than bear the agony of his lost sibling in reality. Sleep is how the story starts off, the speaker feels as if he has been drugged as he dozes off into the Nightingales world. Which can be seen as John Keats escaping the reality of his dead brother. Night is also seen in the poem as the speaker wanders through the nature surrounding him, unable to use his sight. Keats Says: “That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim:” In this quote you can see Keats desperation to escape from his reality, which he is obviously unsatisfied with. “Ode to the Nightingale” presents Keats need to escape from reality, and get away from the troubles he is facing in his