The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream
Encyclopedia
The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream, sometimes subtitled as A Vision instead of a dream, is an epic poem written by the English Romantic John Keats
. Keats composed "The Fall of Hyperion" by reworking, expanding, and personally narrating lines from his earlier fragmented epic poem Hyperion
.
The poem was abandoned before Keats's death.
The poem's first scene opens with the poet narrator stumbling on a post-Edenic feast scene. This scene is reminiscent of the "sensory delight" mentioned in his previous work, Sleep and Poetry, or of the "happy happy joy" experienced in Ode on a Grecian Urn. After enjoying the sensory delight, he is compelled to partake of a "cool vessel of transparent juice" that causes him to fall into a deep sleep.
Upon awakening, the poet narrator finds himself before a temple, with the gates to the East (the same direction as the gates of Eden) shut. He is challenged by a mysterious figure, Moneta, to climb upon stairs, which he experiences a painful death that is reminiscent of Apollo's pain when "dying into life" in Hyperion. Upon climbing, the poet narrator must overcome the desire to not suffer and the desire to not dwell in spiritual pleasure in order to transcend the mistakes of false poets. Once the poet narrator makes it up the steps, he is questioned thoroughly by Moneta on the nature of poetry, on visions, and what one must do with their life, which reflects the second part of Sleep and Poetry, where the narrator has to condemn the false poets in each.
Once the poet has passed the test, Moneta allows the poet to witness a vision of the Titans
and of Hyperion
. This scene ends with the image of Hyperion rising, which leads to the beginning of the previous fragment, Hyperion.
's Aeneid
, Milton
's Paradise Lost
, and Dante
's Divine Comedy.
The structure of the quest for knowledge is based on Dante's use of Virgil's descent into Hades, and the language and narration style reflects this. However, Keats does not use a Christian understanding, but has an Apollonian basis to his poem, and Moneta forms the image of a sibyl
and mimics Book 6 of the Aeneid.
The language and detail style is reminiscent of Paradise Lost, which, in many letters, Keats has stated was a quality epic, but dealt with morality on a simplistic level. The form and meter of Keats's epic is similar to Milton's.
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
. Keats composed "The Fall of Hyperion" by reworking, expanding, and personally narrating lines from his earlier fragmented epic poem Hyperion
Hyperion (poem)
"Hyperion" is an abandoned epic poem by 19th-century English Romantic poet John Keats. It is based on the Titanomachia, and tells of the despair of the Titans after their fall to the Olympians...
.
The poem was abandoned before Keats's death.
Plot
The poem begins with lyrical argument to introduce the work. In it, the narrator introduces the idea that the poem could be either a dream or a vision, and is unsure of which. The poem is divided into three scenes before its final fragmentation.The poem's first scene opens with the poet narrator stumbling on a post-Edenic feast scene. This scene is reminiscent of the "sensory delight" mentioned in his previous work, Sleep and Poetry, or of the "happy happy joy" experienced in Ode on a Grecian Urn. After enjoying the sensory delight, he is compelled to partake of a "cool vessel of transparent juice" that causes him to fall into a deep sleep.
Upon awakening, the poet narrator finds himself before a temple, with the gates to the East (the same direction as the gates of Eden) shut. He is challenged by a mysterious figure, Moneta, to climb upon stairs, which he experiences a painful death that is reminiscent of Apollo's pain when "dying into life" in Hyperion. Upon climbing, the poet narrator must overcome the desire to not suffer and the desire to not dwell in spiritual pleasure in order to transcend the mistakes of false poets. Once the poet narrator makes it up the steps, he is questioned thoroughly by Moneta on the nature of poetry, on visions, and what one must do with their life, which reflects the second part of Sleep and Poetry, where the narrator has to condemn the false poets in each.
Once the poet has passed the test, Moneta allows the poet to witness a vision of the Titans
Titan (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....
and of Hyperion
Hyperion (mythology)
Hyperion was one of the twelve Titans of Ancient Greece, the sons and daughters of Gaia and Ouranos , which were later supplanted by the Olympians. He was the brother of Cronus. He was also the lord of light, and the Titan of the east...
. This scene ends with the image of Hyperion rising, which leads to the beginning of the previous fragment, Hyperion.
Influences
The plot and structure of The Fall of Hyperion has been greatly influenced by three previous epic works, VirgilVirgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
, and Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's Divine Comedy.
The structure of the quest for knowledge is based on Dante's use of Virgil's descent into Hades, and the language and narration style reflects this. However, Keats does not use a Christian understanding, but has an Apollonian basis to his poem, and Moneta forms the image of a sibyl
Sibyl
The word Sibyl comes from the Greek word σίβυλλα sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend" prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally— at Delphi and...
and mimics Book 6 of the Aeneid.
The language and detail style is reminiscent of Paradise Lost, which, in many letters, Keats has stated was a quality epic, but dealt with morality on a simplistic level. The form and meter of Keats's epic is similar to Milton's.