Interpretation of Keats's Endymion

Keats called it "a feverish attempt, rather than a deed accomplished." The critics savaged it. For nearly a century, readers agreed that Endymion, though ambitious, was a failed masterpiece, too sprawling and opaque to reward the effort required. Henry Clement Notcutt disagreed. Written in 1919, this passionate interpretive essay argues that the poem contains an allegory of the soul's journey toward beauty and truth, a meaning that had been overlooked by generations of hostile or indifferent readers. Notcutt guides readers through the poem's four books, illuminating connections and symbols that reveal a coherent philosophical vision beneath Endymion's difficulties. Whether you find the poem impenetrable or have glimpsed its beauty without being able to grasp it, this volume offers a map. It is for anyone who has ever stood before Keats's vast, confusing monument and wished for someone to show them what it means.