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Hyperion A Fragment
"" A Fragment"" is a poetic masterpiece by John Keats, one of the most celebrated poets of the Romantic era. The book is a narrative poem that tells the story of the Titanomachy, a war between the Titans and the Olympian gods in Greek mythology. The poem focuses on the fall of the Titans and the rise of the Olympians, particularly the god Apollo. The poem is divided into two parts, with the first part focusing on the despair and agony of the Titans as they struggle to maintain their power against the gods. The second part is a vision of the future, where Apollo takes over as the new ruler of the gods. Keats' writing is characterized by its vivid imagery, rich language, and emotional depth. The poem is a meditation on power, mortality, and the cyclical nature of history. Unfortunately, "" A Fragment"" was never completed by Keats, and the poem ends abruptly, leaving readers to speculate on what might have been. Nevertheless, the fragment remains a powerful and influential work of literature, and is regarded as one of Keats' greatest achievements.Just at the self-same beat of Time's wide wings Hyperion slid into the rustled air And Saturn gain'd with Thea that sad place Where Cybele and the bruised Titans mourn'd.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
53 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1820
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264 people want to read
About the author
John Keats
1,359books2,458followersRich melodic works in classical imagery of British poet John Keats include "
The Eve of Saint Agnes
," "
Ode on a Grecian Urn
," and "
To Autumn
," all in 1819.
Work of the principal of the Romantic movement of England received constant critical attacks from the periodicals of the day during his short life. He nevertheless posthumously immensely influenced poets, such as Alfred Tennyson. Elaborate word choice and sensual imagery characterize poetry, including a series of odes, masterpieces of Keats among the most popular poems in English literature. Most celebrated letters of Keats expound on his aesthetic theory of "negative capability."
of the author
Work of the principal of the Romantic movement of England received constant critical attacks from the periodicals of the day during his short life. He nevertheless posthumously immensely influenced poets, such as Alfred Tennyson. Elaborate word choice and sensual imagery characterize poetry, including a series of odes, masterpieces of Keats among the most popular poems in English literature. Most celebrated letters of Keats expound on his aesthetic theory of "negative capability."
of the author
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 4, 2021
Honestly? It takes a certain mindset to enjoy Keats. Fortunately, I like mythology, and thanks to my ancient English degree, I have a certain appreciation for flowery language.
Not my favorite, mind you. I like evocative imagery and/or scathing satire. But this isn't bad.
Expand your mind! :)
Not my favorite, mind you. I like evocative imagery and/or scathing satire. But this isn't bad.
Expand your mind! :)
March 11, 2021
the titan of sun/power being defeated by the god of poetry/knowledge just shows that the humanities are superior
April 26, 2019
rtc.
(I swear I will be writing all these pending reviews soon.)
(I swear I will be writing all these pending reviews soon.)
January 1, 2025
Halo Keats halo w takim momencie urwać...
September 29, 2024
Fair play, Keats abandoned this without completing it, so he didn't really want me to read it. He always strikes me as less a great Romantic though, and more a kind of early 6th Form poet scribbling lyrics for a Prog album on the back of a fag packet.
February 18, 2022
COMLIT 100 Spring 2022
July 26, 2017
“And first, as thou wast not the first of powers,
So art thou not the last; it cannot be:
Thou art not the beginning nor the end.�
According to Harold Bloom, all great poetry only emerges through the poet’s conflict with his predecessors. For Bloom, the agon and struggle of the poet against his overbearing influencers is the source of the generative power that offers us great poetry.
If this is indeed true, Hyperion is the site of Keats� own agon against Milton, more precisely, the Milton of Paradise Lost. In parallel with the Fall of Satan’s angels, Keats portrays the fall of the Titans who are soon to be replaced by the Greek pantheon. In Hyperion’s monologues, one finds Satan’s psychological torment, in the gathering of the Titans, the council of fallen angels in Pandemonium, and in Enceladus, the bellicose vigor of Moloch. The presence of Paradise Lost in this poem is undeniable.
However, Hyperion is by no means a mere copy of Paradise Lost. What Keats elicits from the story of the Titans� fall is the universal process of mortalization, the realization that one is part of the old about to be swept away by the new. Regardless of whether or not the Titans would have been persuaded by Belial’s seductive defeatism in Book II of Paradise Lost, they do not possess the luxury of taking dominion in the new realm of Hell. For the Titans, the problem is existential - and the next step in history necessitates their utter annihilation. While Satan is to accompany Adam and Eve on “their solitary way� through the start of human history, for the Titans, a view of the future is no different from a view of their own demise. The budding beauty in Jove, Neptune, and Apollo that the Titans admire is in fact a signifier for their own end. Unlike the fallen angels, the Titans have no hope, no future to look forward to. This crushing feeling of utter impotence is perhaps best captured by Saturn’s laments: ”I am gone / Away from my own bosom: I have left / My strong identity, my real self.� It is this terror of mortalization that remains absent in Milton and displays Keats� efforts at evasion from the great poet. Although Adam and Eve also become mortal in Paradise Lost, Michael’s comforting tales of the coming Savior prevent them from descending into the great despair that grips the Titans. Unlike Milton, Keats plunges us into total darkness, offering us characters for whom not even a glimmer of hope remains.
Despite the fact that Hyperion is undoubtedly an incredible poem, I cannot give it a 5-star rating for the same reason that I can only articulate this review in relation to Paradise Lost. Although even the strongest poets endure “some self-crippling, some wounding of energies� in the agon with their predecessors, Keats� wounds in his struggle against Milton proved to be too great. Milton weighs too heavily on Keats for him to preserve his own strength, and Hyperion remained only a fragment precisely because Keats acknowledged that it was too Miltonic. Perhaps if Keats had lived past the tender age of 25 and completed his second attempt at the story, The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream, he would have poeticized the fall of the Titans with just as much brilliance as Milton’s account of the fall of man.
So art thou not the last; it cannot be:
Thou art not the beginning nor the end.�
According to Harold Bloom, all great poetry only emerges through the poet’s conflict with his predecessors. For Bloom, the agon and struggle of the poet against his overbearing influencers is the source of the generative power that offers us great poetry.
If this is indeed true, Hyperion is the site of Keats� own agon against Milton, more precisely, the Milton of Paradise Lost. In parallel with the Fall of Satan’s angels, Keats portrays the fall of the Titans who are soon to be replaced by the Greek pantheon. In Hyperion’s monologues, one finds Satan’s psychological torment, in the gathering of the Titans, the council of fallen angels in Pandemonium, and in Enceladus, the bellicose vigor of Moloch. The presence of Paradise Lost in this poem is undeniable.
However, Hyperion is by no means a mere copy of Paradise Lost. What Keats elicits from the story of the Titans� fall is the universal process of mortalization, the realization that one is part of the old about to be swept away by the new. Regardless of whether or not the Titans would have been persuaded by Belial’s seductive defeatism in Book II of Paradise Lost, they do not possess the luxury of taking dominion in the new realm of Hell. For the Titans, the problem is existential - and the next step in history necessitates their utter annihilation. While Satan is to accompany Adam and Eve on “their solitary way� through the start of human history, for the Titans, a view of the future is no different from a view of their own demise. The budding beauty in Jove, Neptune, and Apollo that the Titans admire is in fact a signifier for their own end. Unlike the fallen angels, the Titans have no hope, no future to look forward to. This crushing feeling of utter impotence is perhaps best captured by Saturn’s laments: ”I am gone / Away from my own bosom: I have left / My strong identity, my real self.� It is this terror of mortalization that remains absent in Milton and displays Keats� efforts at evasion from the great poet. Although Adam and Eve also become mortal in Paradise Lost, Michael’s comforting tales of the coming Savior prevent them from descending into the great despair that grips the Titans. Unlike Milton, Keats plunges us into total darkness, offering us characters for whom not even a glimmer of hope remains.
Despite the fact that Hyperion is undoubtedly an incredible poem, I cannot give it a 5-star rating for the same reason that I can only articulate this review in relation to Paradise Lost. Although even the strongest poets endure “some self-crippling, some wounding of energies� in the agon with their predecessors, Keats� wounds in his struggle against Milton proved to be too great. Milton weighs too heavily on Keats for him to preserve his own strength, and Hyperion remained only a fragment precisely because Keats acknowledged that it was too Miltonic. Perhaps if Keats had lived past the tender age of 25 and completed his second attempt at the story, The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream, he would have poeticized the fall of the Titans with just as much brilliance as Milton’s account of the fall of man.
May 12, 2016
Disclaimer: Keats is my favourite poet in the whole wide world (and that's saying a LOT!) I am naturally biased to him because he's the only poet known to have soothed me in the greatest of sadness merely by the power of the words he wrote over two centuries ago. I write this review, thus, as a lover and not as a critic.
Hyperion:A Fragment is a result of Keats' desire to write something that would include him 'among the mighty dead' but it wasn't something he completed because of his failing health and also because he lost the inspiration. Despite that, it did become a poem that perhaps takes us the closest to Keats as a poet.
I think all of Keats' poetry can be said to revolve around a few common themes:
1. The first one marks the beginning of Endymion but is present in all his works- A thing of beauty is a joy forever.'
2. All that is true is beautiful and worthy of being written about. Since human sufferings and emotions are true, hence, they, too, are beautiful because of their depth, their poignancy and their intensity and can equally move another human being.
3. Change is an inevitable truth. It may be unpleasant at first but simce it's inevitable, and marks the end of the old and rings in the new, there must be some sort of profound beauty in the state of newness as well.
Hyperion, so far, is that one poem, which allegorically portrays all of these sentiments.
Hyperion:A Fragment is a result of Keats' desire to write something that would include him 'among the mighty dead' but it wasn't something he completed because of his failing health and also because he lost the inspiration. Despite that, it did become a poem that perhaps takes us the closest to Keats as a poet.
I think all of Keats' poetry can be said to revolve around a few common themes:
1. The first one marks the beginning of Endymion but is present in all his works- A thing of beauty is a joy forever.'
2. All that is true is beautiful and worthy of being written about. Since human sufferings and emotions are true, hence, they, too, are beautiful because of their depth, their poignancy and their intensity and can equally move another human being.
3. Change is an inevitable truth. It may be unpleasant at first but simce it's inevitable, and marks the end of the old and rings in the new, there must be some sort of profound beauty in the state of newness as well.
Hyperion, so far, is that one poem, which allegorically portrays all of these sentiments.
March 1, 2023
I started reading this poem because I am currently reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons and the Easter eggs kept slapping me in the face so I decided to read the OG.
Turns out that I am not immune to poetry by old dead white men. This speaks to my lil ole obsession with mythology and the metaphors are definitely metaphoring.
I honestly don't know how to review poetry but the solemn raving and eventual acceptance of defeat by the titans stirred my young soul deep.
Turns out that I am not immune to poetry by old dead white men. This speaks to my lil ole obsession with mythology and the metaphors are definitely metaphoring.
I honestly don't know how to review poetry but the solemn raving and eventual acceptance of defeat by the titans stirred my young soul deep.
September 14, 2023
An enjoyable read, especially viewed in the light the economic changes that were happening during Keats' lifetime, and given the fact that drew inspiration from this piece for his Hyperion series.
The poem fragment takes place after the titans have been defeated and are trying to decide what to do about. When Keats wrote it, the industrial revolution was mostly a done deal, and workers were trying to decide what to do about it. In Dan Simmons' work, humans are in danger of being supplanted by AI, and are trying to decide what to do about it.
Now, we are in the wake of a global pandemic, and an AI/robotics revolution, and are trying to decide what to do about it. Go figure.
The poem fragment takes place after the titans have been defeated and are trying to decide what to do about. When Keats wrote it, the industrial revolution was mostly a done deal, and workers were trying to decide what to do about it. In Dan Simmons' work, humans are in danger of being supplanted by AI, and are trying to decide what to do about it.
Now, we are in the wake of a global pandemic, and an AI/robotics revolution, and are trying to decide what to do about it. Go figure.
January 17, 2025
Per usual, Keats possesses a powerful imagination and vision. This could have been a "Miltonian" retelling of the Titans' rebellion against their new, younger, Olympian rulers. Yet Keats himself was dissatisfied with the abundance of inversions common to his predecessor. He would later channel themes of "Hyperion, a Fragment" into its rewritten form "The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream", also unfinished. The conclusion I draw from all this is typical when discussing artists who die at an early age: a shame.
June 3, 2023
Let the rose glow intense and warm the air,
And let the clouds of even and of morn
Float in voluptuous fleeces o’er the hills;
Let the red wine within the goblet boil,
Cold as a bubbling well; let faint-lipp’d shells,
On sands, or in great deeps, vermilion turn
Through all their labyrinths; and let the maid
Blush keenly, as with some warm kiss surpris’d.
Keats actually was that good, man.
And let the clouds of even and of morn
Float in voluptuous fleeces o’er the hills;
Let the red wine within the goblet boil,
Cold as a bubbling well; let faint-lipp’d shells,
On sands, or in great deeps, vermilion turn
Through all their labyrinths; and let the maid
Blush keenly, as with some warm kiss surpris’d.
Keats actually was that good, man.
January 11, 2023
If ever Homer and Milton could write a poem together, it would be Hyperion. And that is exactly it's downfall. It's language is so Miltonic, it's style is Homeric and even though Keats retains his supreme Romantic flavour, he failed in his attempts to finish it. One of the finest fragments of unfinished poetry from the Romantic era. Almost as good as Home at Grasmere.
November 8, 2022
Ασύλληπτο.
September 21, 2023
"How Beautifu, if sorrow had not made
sorrow more beautiful than beauty's self."
sorrow more beautiful than beauty's self."
April 23, 2025
This was an interesting poem, as the poet tries to humanize the Greek pantheon during the war in which the Olympians overthrew the Titans.
January 14, 2016
I stood upon a shore, a pleasant shore,
Where a sweet clime was breathed from a land
Of fragrance, quietness, and trees, and flowers.
Full of calm joy it was, as I of grief;
Too full of joy and soft delicious warmth;
So that I felt a movement in my heart
To chide, and to reproach that solitude
With songs of misery, music of our woes;
And sat me down, and took a mouthed shell
And murmur’d into it, and made melody�
Where a sweet clime was breathed from a land
Of fragrance, quietness, and trees, and flowers.
Full of calm joy it was, as I of grief;
Too full of joy and soft delicious warmth;
So that I felt a movement in my heart
To chide, and to reproach that solitude
With songs of misery, music of our woes;
And sat me down, and took a mouthed shell
And murmur’d into it, and made melody�
March 7, 2015
Enjoyed listening to this on Audio - along with reading some notes and summaries online to help me understand. Wish I had read an annotated version instead, however, because it would have helped. If Keats had been able to finish this, it could have been as famous as Paradise Lost or some of the other well-known epic poems.
January 2, 2012
My favourite poem of all time. Very beautiful!
September 28, 2014
Beautiful language, but it needs a thorough reread with lots of reference checking to understand (which my lazy self did not do on the first read.
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