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Episode details

Radio 3,11 Jan 2019,14 mins

SeriesAn Ode to John Keats

Paul Batchelor on Ode to Psyche

The Essay

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1819 was a stunningly fertile year for John Keats, when he wrote five of the greatest odes in the English language and actually introduced words and phrases never heard before - "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.....", "Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty....." . "O for a beaker full of the warm South....." Five leading contemporary poets each celebrate a single ode. 5. Paul Batchelor on Ode to Psyche Keats wrote "Ode to Psyche" in spring of 1819 and it was the first of his great odes in that year, , which include "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and "Ode to a Nightingale". Poet Paul Batchelor explores what is perhaps the least familiar of the great 1819 odes for contemporary readers. Producer: Beaty Rubens

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