Ode to Psyche

Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane

In some untrodden region of my mind,

Where branched thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,

Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:

Far, far around shall those dark-cluster'd trees

Fledge the wild-ridged mountains steep by steep;

And there by zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees,

The moss-lain Dryads shall be lull'd to sleep;

And in the midst of this wide quietness

A rosy sanctuary will I dress

With the wreath'd trellis of a working brain,

With buds, and bells, and stars without a name,

With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign,

Who breeding flowers, will never breed the same:

And there shall be for thee all soft delight

That shadowy thought can win,

A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,

To let the warm Love in!

The third stanza of Keats' Ode links his psyche to Fancy

which is Protean. Fancy will be Psyche's sanctuary

lit by a bright torch and home to Love. It is interesting

to note that Keats speaks of Fancy which is versatile.

It is associated with day-dreaming which is the prime activity

of the creative thiner and maker. The poet's psyche

is linked to Nature, Imagination, and Love which are the

highest faculties and feelings of man.