Wise as Saturn was, the greatness of his power had
prevented him from realizing that he was neither the beginning nor the
end, but a link in the chain of progress.
prevented him from realizing that he was neither the beginning nor the
end, but a link in the chain of progress.
Keats
205-7.
ll. 213 seq. See Introduction, p. 248.
PAGE 158. l. 228. _effigies_, visions.
l. 230. _O . . . pools. _ A picture of inimitable chilly horror.
l. 238. _fanes. _ Cf. _Psyche_, l. 50.
PAGE 159. l. 246. _Tellus . . . robes_, the earth mantled by the salt
sea.
PAGE 160. ll. 274-7. _colure. _ One of two great circles supposed to
intersect at right angles at the poles. The nadir is the lowest point in
the heavens and the zenith is the highest.
PAGE 161. ll. 279-80. _with labouring . . . centuries. _ By studying the
sky for many hundreds of years wise men found there signs and symbols
which they read and interpreted.
PAGE 162. l. 298. _demesnes. _ Cf. _Lamia_, ii. 155, note.
ll. 302-4. _all along . . . faint. _ As in l. 286, the god and the
sunrise are indistinguishable to Keats. We see them both, and both in
one. See Introduction, p. 248.
l. 302. _rack_, a drifting mass of distant clouds. Cf. _Lamia_, i. 178,
and _Tempest_, IV. i. 156.
PAGE 163. ll. 311-12. _the powers . . . creating. _ Coelus and Terra (or
Tellus), the sky and earth.
PAGE 164. l. 345. _Before . . . murmur. _ Before the string is drawn
tight to let the arrow fly.
PAGE 165. l. 349. _region-whisper_, whisper from the wide air.
BOOK II.
PAGE 167. l. 4. _Cybele_, the wife of Saturn.
PAGE 168. l. 17. _stubborn'd_, made strong, a characteristic coinage of
Keats, after the Elizabethan manner; cf. _Romeo and Juliet_, IV. i. 16.
ll. 22 seq. Cf. i. 161.
l. 28. _gurge_, whirlpool.
PAGE 169. l. 35. _Of . . . moor_, suggested by Druid stones near
Keswick.
l. 37. _chancel vault. _ As if they stood in a great temple domed by the
sky.
PAGE 171. l. 66. _Shadow'd_, literally and also metaphorically, in the
darkness of his wrath.
l. 70. _that second war. _ An indication that Keats did not intend to
recount this 'second war'; it is not likely that he would have
forestalled its chief incident.
l. 78. _Ops_, the same as Cybele.
l. 79. _No shape distinguishable. _ Cf. _Paradise Lost_, ii. 666-8.
PAGE 172. l. 97. _mortal_, making him mortal.
l. 98. _A disanointing poison_, taking away his kingship and his
godhead.
PAGE 173. ll. 116-17. _There is . . . voice. _ Cf. i. 72-8. The
mysterious grandeur of the wind in the trees, whether in calm or storm.
PAGE 174. ll. 133-5. _that old . . . darkness. _ Uranus was the same as
Coelus, the god of the sky. The 'book' is the sky, from which ancient
sages drew their lore. Cf. i. 277-80.
PAGE 175. l. 153. _palpable_, having material existence; literally,
touchable.
PAGE 176. l. 159. _unseen parent dear. _ Coelus, since the air is
invisible.
l. 168. _no . . . grove. _ 'Sophist and sage' suggests the philosophers
of ancient Greece.
l. 170. _locks not oozy. _ Cf. _Lycidas_, l. 175, 'oozy locks'. This use
of the negative is a reminiscence of Milton.
ll. 171-2. _murmurs . . . sands. _ In this description of the god's
utterance is the whole spirit of the element which he personifies.
PAGE 177. ll. 182-7.
Wise as Saturn was, the greatness of his power had
prevented him from realizing that he was neither the beginning nor the
end, but a link in the chain of progress.
PAGE 178. ll. 203-5. In their hour of downfall a new dominion is
revealed to them--a dominion of the soul which rules so long as it is
not afraid to see and know.
l. 207. _though once chiefs. _ Though Chaos and Darkness once had the
sovereignty. From Chaos and Darkness developed Heaven and Earth, and
from them the Titans in all their glory and power. Now from them
develops the new order of Gods, surpassing them in beauty as they
surpassed their parents.
PAGE 180. ll. 228-9. The key of the whole situation.
ll. 237-41. No fight has taken place. The god has seen his doom and
accepted the inevitable.
PAGE 181. l. 244. _poz'd_, settled, firm.
PAGE 183. l. 284. _Like . . . string. _ In this expressive line we hear
the quick patter of the beads. Clymene has had much the same experience
as Oceanus, though she does not philosophize upon it. She has succumbed
to the beauty of her successor.
PAGE 184. ll. 300-7. We feel the great elemental nature of the Titans in
these powerful similes.
l. 310. _Giant-Gods? _ In the edition of 1820 printed 'giant, Gods? ' Mr.
Forman suggested the above emendation, which has since been discovered
to be the true MS. reading.
PAGE 185. l. 328. _purge the ether_, clear the air.
l. 331. As if Jove's appearance of strength were a deception, masking
his real weakness.
PAGE 186. l. 339. Cf. i. 328-35, ii. 96.
ll. 346-56. As the silver wings of dawn preceded Hyperion's rising so
now a silver light heralds his approach.
PAGE 187. l. 357. See how the light breaks in with this line.
l. 366. _and made it terrible. _ There is no joy in the light which
reveals such terrors.
PAGE 188. l. 374. _Memnon's image. _ Memnon was a famous king of Egypt
who was killed in the Trojan war. His people erected a wonderful statue
to his memory, which uttered a melodious sound at dawn, when the sun
fell on it. At sunset it uttered a sad sound.
l. 375. _dusking East. _ Since the light fades first from the eastern
sky.
BOOK III.
PAGE 191. l. 9. _bewildered shores. _ The attribute of the wanderer
transferred to the shore. Cf. _Nightingale_, ll. 14, 67.
l. 10. _Delphic. _ At Delphi worship was given to Apollo, the inventor
and god of music.
PAGE 192. l. 12. _Dorian. _ There were several 'modes' in Greek music, of
which the chief were Dorian, Phrygian, and Lydian. Each was supposed to
possess certain definite ethical characteristics. Dorian music was
martial and manly. Cf. _Paradise Lost_, i. 549-53.
l. 13. _Father of all verse. _ Apollo, the god of light and song.
ll. 18-19. _Let the red . . . well. _ Cf. _Nightingale_, st. 2.
l. 19. _faint-lipp'd. _ Cf. ii. 270, 'mouthed shell. '
l. 23. _Cyclades. _ Islands in the Aegean sea, so called because they
surrounded Delos in a circle.
l. 24. _Delos_, the island where Apollo was born.
PAGE 193. l. 31. _mother fair_, Leto (Latona).
l. 32. _twin-sister_, Artemis (Diana).
l. 40. _murmurous . . . waves. _ We hear their soft breaking.
PAGE 196. ll. 81-2. Cf. _Lamia_, i. 75.
l. 82. _Mnemosyne_, daughter of Coelus and Terra, and mother of the
Muses. Her name signifies Memory.
l. 86. Cf. _Samson Agonistes_, ll. 80-2.
l. 87. Cf. _Merchant of Venice_, I. i. 1-7.
l. 92. _liegeless_, independent--acknowledging no allegiance.
l. 93. _aspirant_, ascending. The air will not bear him up.
PAGE 197. l. 98. _patient . . . moon. _ Cf. i. 353, 'patient stars. '
Their still, steady light.
l. 113. So Apollo reaches his divinity--by knowledge which includes
experience of human suffering--feeling 'the giant-agony of the world'.
PAGE 198. l. 114. _gray_, hoary with antiquity.
l. 128. _immortal death. _ Cf. Swinburne's _Garden of Proserpine_, st. 7.
Who gathers all things mortal
With cold immortal hands.
PAGE 199. l. 136. Filled in, in pencil, in a transcript of _Hyperion_ by
Keats's friend Richard Woodhouse--
Glory dawn'd, he was a god.
FOOTNOTES:
[245:1] 'If any apology be thought necessary for the appearance of the
unfinished poem of Hyperion, the publishers beg to state that they alone
are responsible, as it was printed at their particular request, and
contrary to the wish of the author.
ll. 213 seq. See Introduction, p. 248.
PAGE 158. l. 228. _effigies_, visions.
l. 230. _O . . . pools. _ A picture of inimitable chilly horror.
l. 238. _fanes. _ Cf. _Psyche_, l. 50.
PAGE 159. l. 246. _Tellus . . . robes_, the earth mantled by the salt
sea.
PAGE 160. ll. 274-7. _colure. _ One of two great circles supposed to
intersect at right angles at the poles. The nadir is the lowest point in
the heavens and the zenith is the highest.
PAGE 161. ll. 279-80. _with labouring . . . centuries. _ By studying the
sky for many hundreds of years wise men found there signs and symbols
which they read and interpreted.
PAGE 162. l. 298. _demesnes. _ Cf. _Lamia_, ii. 155, note.
ll. 302-4. _all along . . . faint. _ As in l. 286, the god and the
sunrise are indistinguishable to Keats. We see them both, and both in
one. See Introduction, p. 248.
l. 302. _rack_, a drifting mass of distant clouds. Cf. _Lamia_, i. 178,
and _Tempest_, IV. i. 156.
PAGE 163. ll. 311-12. _the powers . . . creating. _ Coelus and Terra (or
Tellus), the sky and earth.
PAGE 164. l. 345. _Before . . . murmur. _ Before the string is drawn
tight to let the arrow fly.
PAGE 165. l. 349. _region-whisper_, whisper from the wide air.
BOOK II.
PAGE 167. l. 4. _Cybele_, the wife of Saturn.
PAGE 168. l. 17. _stubborn'd_, made strong, a characteristic coinage of
Keats, after the Elizabethan manner; cf. _Romeo and Juliet_, IV. i. 16.
ll. 22 seq. Cf. i. 161.
l. 28. _gurge_, whirlpool.
PAGE 169. l. 35. _Of . . . moor_, suggested by Druid stones near
Keswick.
l. 37. _chancel vault. _ As if they stood in a great temple domed by the
sky.
PAGE 171. l. 66. _Shadow'd_, literally and also metaphorically, in the
darkness of his wrath.
l. 70. _that second war. _ An indication that Keats did not intend to
recount this 'second war'; it is not likely that he would have
forestalled its chief incident.
l. 78. _Ops_, the same as Cybele.
l. 79. _No shape distinguishable. _ Cf. _Paradise Lost_, ii. 666-8.
PAGE 172. l. 97. _mortal_, making him mortal.
l. 98. _A disanointing poison_, taking away his kingship and his
godhead.
PAGE 173. ll. 116-17. _There is . . . voice. _ Cf. i. 72-8. The
mysterious grandeur of the wind in the trees, whether in calm or storm.
PAGE 174. ll. 133-5. _that old . . . darkness. _ Uranus was the same as
Coelus, the god of the sky. The 'book' is the sky, from which ancient
sages drew their lore. Cf. i. 277-80.
PAGE 175. l. 153. _palpable_, having material existence; literally,
touchable.
PAGE 176. l. 159. _unseen parent dear. _ Coelus, since the air is
invisible.
l. 168. _no . . . grove. _ 'Sophist and sage' suggests the philosophers
of ancient Greece.
l. 170. _locks not oozy. _ Cf. _Lycidas_, l. 175, 'oozy locks'. This use
of the negative is a reminiscence of Milton.
ll. 171-2. _murmurs . . . sands. _ In this description of the god's
utterance is the whole spirit of the element which he personifies.
PAGE 177. ll. 182-7.
Wise as Saturn was, the greatness of his power had
prevented him from realizing that he was neither the beginning nor the
end, but a link in the chain of progress.
PAGE 178. ll. 203-5. In their hour of downfall a new dominion is
revealed to them--a dominion of the soul which rules so long as it is
not afraid to see and know.
l. 207. _though once chiefs. _ Though Chaos and Darkness once had the
sovereignty. From Chaos and Darkness developed Heaven and Earth, and
from them the Titans in all their glory and power. Now from them
develops the new order of Gods, surpassing them in beauty as they
surpassed their parents.
PAGE 180. ll. 228-9. The key of the whole situation.
ll. 237-41. No fight has taken place. The god has seen his doom and
accepted the inevitable.
PAGE 181. l. 244. _poz'd_, settled, firm.
PAGE 183. l. 284. _Like . . . string. _ In this expressive line we hear
the quick patter of the beads. Clymene has had much the same experience
as Oceanus, though she does not philosophize upon it. She has succumbed
to the beauty of her successor.
PAGE 184. ll. 300-7. We feel the great elemental nature of the Titans in
these powerful similes.
l. 310. _Giant-Gods? _ In the edition of 1820 printed 'giant, Gods? ' Mr.
Forman suggested the above emendation, which has since been discovered
to be the true MS. reading.
PAGE 185. l. 328. _purge the ether_, clear the air.
l. 331. As if Jove's appearance of strength were a deception, masking
his real weakness.
PAGE 186. l. 339. Cf. i. 328-35, ii. 96.
ll. 346-56. As the silver wings of dawn preceded Hyperion's rising so
now a silver light heralds his approach.
PAGE 187. l. 357. See how the light breaks in with this line.
l. 366. _and made it terrible. _ There is no joy in the light which
reveals such terrors.
PAGE 188. l. 374. _Memnon's image. _ Memnon was a famous king of Egypt
who was killed in the Trojan war. His people erected a wonderful statue
to his memory, which uttered a melodious sound at dawn, when the sun
fell on it. At sunset it uttered a sad sound.
l. 375. _dusking East. _ Since the light fades first from the eastern
sky.
BOOK III.
PAGE 191. l. 9. _bewildered shores. _ The attribute of the wanderer
transferred to the shore. Cf. _Nightingale_, ll. 14, 67.
l. 10. _Delphic. _ At Delphi worship was given to Apollo, the inventor
and god of music.
PAGE 192. l. 12. _Dorian. _ There were several 'modes' in Greek music, of
which the chief were Dorian, Phrygian, and Lydian. Each was supposed to
possess certain definite ethical characteristics. Dorian music was
martial and manly. Cf. _Paradise Lost_, i. 549-53.
l. 13. _Father of all verse. _ Apollo, the god of light and song.
ll. 18-19. _Let the red . . . well. _ Cf. _Nightingale_, st. 2.
l. 19. _faint-lipp'd. _ Cf. ii. 270, 'mouthed shell. '
l. 23. _Cyclades. _ Islands in the Aegean sea, so called because they
surrounded Delos in a circle.
l. 24. _Delos_, the island where Apollo was born.
PAGE 193. l. 31. _mother fair_, Leto (Latona).
l. 32. _twin-sister_, Artemis (Diana).
l. 40. _murmurous . . . waves. _ We hear their soft breaking.
PAGE 196. ll. 81-2. Cf. _Lamia_, i. 75.
l. 82. _Mnemosyne_, daughter of Coelus and Terra, and mother of the
Muses. Her name signifies Memory.
l. 86. Cf. _Samson Agonistes_, ll. 80-2.
l. 87. Cf. _Merchant of Venice_, I. i. 1-7.
l. 92. _liegeless_, independent--acknowledging no allegiance.
l. 93. _aspirant_, ascending. The air will not bear him up.
PAGE 197. l. 98. _patient . . . moon. _ Cf. i. 353, 'patient stars. '
Their still, steady light.
l. 113. So Apollo reaches his divinity--by knowledge which includes
experience of human suffering--feeling 'the giant-agony of the world'.
PAGE 198. l. 114. _gray_, hoary with antiquity.
l. 128. _immortal death. _ Cf. Swinburne's _Garden of Proserpine_, st. 7.
Who gathers all things mortal
With cold immortal hands.
PAGE 199. l. 136. Filled in, in pencil, in a transcript of _Hyperion_ by
Keats's friend Richard Woodhouse--
Glory dawn'd, he was a god.
FOOTNOTES:
[245:1] 'If any apology be thought necessary for the appearance of the
unfinished poem of Hyperion, the publishers beg to state that they alone
are responsible, as it was printed at their particular request, and
contrary to the wish of the author.
