NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Poem 11: Ode to a Nightingale (Free PDF)

The poem Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats is the eleventh poem in the Poetry section of the NCERT Class 11 English Woven Words textbook. This romantic poem explores the contrast between the temporary human condition and the timeless beauty of the nightingale’s song. It focuses on the themes of mortality, escapism, and the power of art. Keats reflects on the human desire to transcend suffering through imagination and nature’s eternal beauty. This blog provides easy-to-understand NCERT Class 11 English notes with explanations, meanings, and analysis to help students understand the poem’s themes. You can also download the free PDF for quick revision.

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Important Word Meanings in Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

In the poem Ode to a Nightingale, specific words and phrases convey the emotional depth of human suffering, the allure of nature, and the speaker’s yearning for transcendence. Understanding these terms clarifies the poem’s message and imagery.

Word / Phrase	Meaning
Drowsy numbness	A state of lethargy or emotional heaviness, as if under the influence of a drug
Hemlock	A poisonous plant, symbolising a numbing or deadly effect
Opiate	A drug causing dullness or sleep, suggesting escape from pain
Lethe-wards	Toward Lethe, the mythological river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology
Dryad	A tree nymph in Greek mythology, referring to the nightingale as a spirit of nature
Beechen green	Green beech trees, evoking a lush, natural setting
Full-throated ease	The nightingale’s effortless, powerful singing
Vintage	Wine, symbolising joy and escape
Deep-delved earth	Wine stored deep underground, suggesting richness and age
Hippocrene	A mythical fountain inspiring poetry, symbolising creative inspiration
Beaded bubbles	Sparkling wine bubbles, evoking sensory pleasure
Weariness, fever, fret	Human exhaustion, anxiety, and restlessness
Palsy	A trembling condition, often associated with old age
Spectre-thin	Ghostly or emaciated, describing wasting youth
Leaden-eyed despairs	Heavy, hopeless sorrow, weighing down the spirit
Immortal Bird	The nightingale, symbolising eternal art and beauty
Hungry generations	Successive human generations driven by need and mortality
Ruth	A biblical figure who worked in foreign fields, symbolising homesickness
Alien corn	Foreign fields, emphasising Ruth’s displacement
Magic casements	Enchanted windows, suggesting portals to imaginative realms
Faery lands forlorn	Mythical, desolate lands, evoking longing and loss
Plaintive anthem	The nightingale’s mournful yet beautiful song
Waking dream	A blurred state between reality and imagination

Line-by-Line Explanation of NCERT English Woven Words Poem 10: Ode to a Nightingale

Here is a line-by-line analysis of the poem Ode to a Nightingale.

Lines 1–4: 

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains 

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, 

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains 

One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk

The speaker expresses a heavy-hearted, numbed state, comparing it to the effects of drinking hemlock or an opiate, suggesting emotional pain or a desire to escape reality. The reference to Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, implies a longing for oblivion.

Lines 5–10: 

’Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, 

But being too happy in thine happiness, 

That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, 

In some melodious plot 

Of beechen green, and shadows numberless, 

Singest of summer in full-throated ease

The speaker clarifies that their pain isn’t envy but an overwhelming joy in the nightingale’s carefree song. The bird, described as a “light-winged Dryad,” sings effortlessly in a lush, green setting, symbolising nature’s purity and freedom.

Lines 11–14: 

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been 

Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth, 

Tasting of Flora and the country green, 

Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth!

The speaker yearns for wine, aged deep underground, evoking nature’s vibrancy, dance, and joyful songs from Provence, seeking an escape into sensory pleasure.

Lines 15–20:

O, for a beaker full of the warm South, 

Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, 

With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, 

And purple-stained mouth; 

That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, 

And with thee fade away into the forest dim

The speaker desires a drink of poetic inspiration (Hippocrene), imagining it as a means to escape the world and join the nightingale in its serene, forest realm, away from human suffering.

Lines 21–24: 

Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget 

What thou among the leaves hast never known 

The weariness, the fever, and the fret 

Here, where men sit and hear each other groan

The speaker longs to escape human struggles, exhaustion, anxiety, and pain, unknown to the nightingale, whose world is free from such burdens.

Lines 25–30: 

Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs, 

Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;  

Where but to think is to be full of sorrow 

And leaden-eyed despairs, 

Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, 

Or new Love pine at them beyond tomorrow

The speaker describes the human condition: old age’s frailty, youth’s premature death, pervasive sorrow, and the fleeting nature of beauty and love, contrasting these with the nightingale’s timeless song.

Lines 31–34: 

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! 

No hungry generations tread thee down; 

The voice I hear this passing night was heard 

In ancient days by emperor and clown

The nightingale’s song is eternal, untouched by human mortality or time’s passage, heard across history by all, from emperors to commoners.

Lines 35–40: 

Perhaps the self-same song that found a path 

Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, 

She stood in tears amid the alien corn; 

The same that oft-times hath 

Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam 

Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn

The song may have comforted Ruth, a biblical figure longing for home, and enchanted mythical realms, evoking timeless beauty and longing in distant, magical settings.

Lines 41–44: 

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell 

To toll me back from thee to my sole self! 

Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well 

As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf

The word “forlorn” pulls the speaker back to reality, breaking the imaginative escape. They bid farewell to the nightingale, acknowledging that imagination cannot fully escape reality’s pain.

Lines 45–50: 

Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades 

Past the near meadows, over the still stream, 

Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep 

In the next valley-glades: 

Was it a vision, or a waking dream? 

Fled is that music:, Do I wake or sleep?

The nightingale’s song fades into the distance, leaving the speaker questioning whether the experience was a dream or reality, reflecting the blurred line between imagination and truth as the music vanishes.

Analysis of the NCERT English Woven Words Poem 10: Ode to a Nightingale

The poem Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats is a romantic ode that explores the tension between the fleeting nature of human life and the timeless beauty of art and nature, embodied by the nightingale’s song. Through rich imagery and a reflective tone, Keats examines the human desire to escape suffering and mortality through imagination, poetry, and nature’s eternal allure.

Theme – Mortality, Escapism, and the Power of Art

The central theme is the contrast between human mortality and the nightingale’s eternal song, symbolising art’s transcendence. The poem explores the desire to escape human suffering, pain, ageing, and death through wine, poetry, or imagination, and the inevitable return to reality. It also reflects on the enduring power of art to connect across time.

Symbolism and Meaning

Here, we have mentioned the symbolism used in this poem, along with the meaning behind that.

Symbol	Meaning
Nightingale	Represents eternal art, beauty, and nature, free from human mortality
Wine/Hippocrene	Symbolises sensory pleasure and poetic inspiration as an escape from reality
Lethe	The river of forgetfulness, signifying the desire to obliterate painful memories
Ruth	Represents homesickness and human longing, connecting the song’s timeless comfort
Magic casements	Enchanted windows to imaginative, mythical realms, symbolising escapism

Human Experience

The poem captures the universal human experience of yearning for escape from life’s pain, ageing, loss, and mortality. It reflects the allure of art and nature as temporary refuges and the bittersweet realisation that such escapes are fleeting, leaving one to confront reality’s sorrows.

Tone and Mood

The tone and mood of the poem have been given as follows:

• Melancholic and Yearning: The speaker’s heartache and desire for escape create a sorrowful tone, as in “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains.”
• Enraptured: The nightingale’s song evokes awe and joy, as in “Singest of summer in full-throated ease.”
• Reflective: The speaker contemplates mortality and art’s permanence, as in “Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!”
• Mournful: The fading song and return to reality create a haunting mood, as in “Fled is that music.”

Also Read: NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Chapter 7: Glory at Twilight (Free PDF)

Summary of NCERT English Woven Words Poem 10: Ode to a Nightingale

In Ode to a Nightingale, John Keats expresses a deep sense of melancholy and a desire to escape human suffering through the nightingale’s timeless song. The speaker, overwhelmed by a “drowsy numbness,” compares their state to the effects of poison or opiates, longing to join the nightingale’s carefree world. They imagine escaping through wine or poetic inspiration (Hippocrene), yearning to “fade away” into the forest with the bird, which knows no human pain, weariness, ageing, or death. The nightingale’s song, eternal and untouched by “hungry generations,” has comforted figures like Ruth and enchanted mythical realms. However, the word “forlorn” pulls the speaker back to reality, and the nightingale’s song fades, leaving them questioning whether the experience was a dream or reality, as they remain caught between wakefulness and sleep.

Poetic Devices in NCERT English Woven Words Poem 10: Ode to a Nightingale

John Keats employs various poetic devices to convey the poem’s emotional depth and vivid imagery. Here are the poetic devices used in this poem.

Device	Example	Effect
Imagery	“In some melodious plot / Of beechen green, and shadows numberless”	Creates a vivid, lush image of the nightingale’s natural setting, enhancing its allure
Metaphor	“Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene”	Compares wine to poetic inspiration, emphasising its transformative power
Symbolism	“Thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees”	The nightingale symbolises eternal art and nature, contrasting human mortality
Alliteration	“Beaded bubbles winking at the brim”	Enhances the sensory appeal of wine, creating a musical effect
Personification	“The fancy cannot cheat so well / As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf”	Imagination is personified as a deceptive figure, highlighting its fleeting nature
Contrast	“Where youth grows pale… / Thou wast not born for death”	Juxtaposes human mortality with the nightingale’s eternal song
Apostrophe	“Thou, light-winged Dryad”	Directly addresses the nightingale, creating intimacy and emphasising its significance

Download more NCERT Solutions of Class 11 English ‘Woven Words’ here!

Poem 1: The Peacock Solution

Poem 2: Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds Solution

Poem 3: Coming Solution

Poem 4: Telephone Conversation Solution

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