22nd Annual Student Research Conference
John Keats' Hyperion as a Rejection of Scientific Thought: A New Historicist Interpretation
Matthew K. Ohs
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
In his unfinished poem Hyperion, John Keats retells the war between the Titans and the Olympians from the ancient epic Titanomachia. While narrating the Titans' fall from power as they are overthrown by the Olympians, Keats focuses on the decline of the Titan sun god, Hyperion, as he is finally eclipsed by Apollo, the Greek god of poetry and the sun. There is, however, much more to Hyperion than just classic mythology. The two warring races of gods also represented a battle of two different eras. It is in this battle that Keats saw parallels to his own time, in which the Romantics were revolting against the scientific and rationalist movements. When put into context with the early nineteenth century, Hyperion represents what Keats saw as the triumph of Romanticism over rationalism and as a rejection of scientific advancement.
Keywords: John Keats, Romanticism, Poetry
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 14-5
Location: OP 2117
Time: 9:15