A lonely bird: alienation in Keats’ “ode to the nightingale and pope’s ode on solitude

Abstract EN

The present study discussed the meanings of the concept of alienation in Keats’ Ode to the Nightingale and Pope’s Ode on Solitude.

Melvin Seeman’s (1959) theory of alienation was used as a framework in the current article.

The study aims to prove that alienation is one central element in the two poems that were discussed.

Accordingly, this study found that Keats and Pope express alienation with multiple specific meanings in their poetry.

For Keats’ “Ode to the Nightingale, alienation occurred within the meanings of powerlessness, meaninglessness, and isolation.

On the other hand, Pope’s Ode on Solitude expressed only its poet’s powerlessness.

Thus, the current study provided insight into how alienation is functional concept not only in modernism but also in neoclassicism and romanticism.