A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATURAL THEMES AND IMAGERY IN SELECTED ROMANTIC POETRY OF JOHN KEATS AND ADA LIMON
Abstract
This study presents a comparative analysis of imagery and themes in the selected poems of John Keats and Ada Limón, highlighting their contributions to the Romantic literary tradition despite belonging to different eras. Romantic poetry, characterized by its emphasis on emotion, imagination, nature, and individuality, is vividly expressed in Keats’s works such as Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, and To Autumn, as well as in Limón’s poems including How to Triumph Like a Girl, The Vulture & the Body, and The Raincoat. The aim of the study is to examine how both poets employ imagery to convey themes of beauty, mortality, identity, resilience, and the human relationship with nature. Using qualitative textual analysis and close reading, supported by scholarly opinions, the study finds that Keats employs sensual and symbolic imagery to explore the fleeting nature of human existence and the permanence of art, while Limón adopts a contemporary, grounded, and intimate style of imagery to reflect on mourning, ecological awareness, and personal resilience. The findings reveal that, despite temporal and stylistic differences, both poets share Romantic sensibilities through their use of nature, sensory description, and emotional depth. The study concludes that their works affirm poetry’s enduring capacity to reveal the human condition and sustain the force of Romantic ideals across centuries.
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