This is the earliest of Keats’ odes. In fact, no other ode by Keats is dated earlier than this one, which sings the praises of some poets that he greatly admired poets who lived long before his time but whose literary work survives them and reveals the greatness of their vision of life and art.
The poem has a simple rhyme scheme that goes aa bb cc dd and so on.The simplicity of the meter and the rhyme scheme matches the unsophisticated sense of admiration that the poet had for his heroes.
Keats says that the poets who wrote poems of love and joy have now left this world. But they have left the impression of their immortality in their contents of their poetry. Thus, they live in heaven as well as on earth. These poets therefore enjoy two fold immortality—one in the heaven after their death and in their poems. These souls communicate with the other heavenly bodies in heaven. There souls enjoy the music of heavenly bodies. They listen to the sound of wonderful fountains, thunder like voice of God, and the rustling of trees in heaven.
They sit comfortably in the beautiful lawns of heaven where only the fawns of Goddes Diana are allowed to graze.
There they enjoy the beauty of blue bells and of daisies having a scent of roses. They listen to the songs of the nightangle, which express divine truth and philosophical knowledge in a melodious manner.
The souls of the dead poets also live on earth through their poems. They teach us the brevity of human life. Their literary works deal with the joys, sorrows, passions and hatred of mankind. They reveal the glorious deeds of human beings as well as their shameful aspects of human nature. We also learn what strengthens and weakens the human spirit. Thus they impart wisdom to us although they have gone to the distant regions of heaven.
The poem is an exalted lyric in which the poet expresses the great contribution made by the poets during their life.