Hyperion, A Fragment by John Keats
Saturn, once supreme among the Titans, sits fallen and dethroned in a shaded, silent vale, his sceptre gone and his powers stripped from him, so still that even the stream nearby seems to lose its voice. Thea, "tender spouse of gold Hyperion," approaches him with reverence and sorrow, telling him that heaven, earth, and ocean no longer know him as a god, and that his thunder now rumbles reluctantly under a new command. She urges him to sleep on, then weeps at his feet. After Saturn stays motionless for a long span of time, he rises and questions Thea, asking her to confirm his ruined state and to search all space for any sign of the power that overthrew him, insisting Saturn must be king again and vowing to create "another chaos" if need be. This declaration is heard even on Olympus, unsettling "the rebel three." Thea, heartened, leads Saturn toward the hiding place of the other fallen Titans. Meanwhile Hyperion, alone among the Titans still ruling in splendor, remains uneasy on his fiery throne, disturbed by ominous visions, foul-tasting incense, and fear among his winged attendants. Entering his bright palace in wrath, he laments the fall of Saturn and demands to know if he too must fall, vowing to advance against "rebel Jove" and restore Saturn's throne. Though he wishes to command the dawn to begin early, the sacred order of the seasons will not permit it. Stretched in grief upon a cloud between night and day, Hyperion hears the voice of Coelus, who tells him he witnessed the fall of his "first-born" and now senses that the Titans have taken on mortal-like passions of fear and rage. Coelus urges Hyperion, as one who "canst move about, an evident God," to go down and act, promising to watch over the sun in his stead. Hyperion then plunges downward into the night. At the same moment, Saturn and Thea reach the subterranean den where Cybele and the "bruised Titans" mourn amid deafening waterfalls. Many Titans—Coeus, Gyges, Briareus, Typhon, Dolor, Porphyrion among others—lie chained or immobilized in torment; Mnemosyne and Phoebe are absent, wandering elsewhere. The narrator surveys the fallen figures in their grief: Creus by his broken mace, Iapetus grasping a dead serpent, Cottus grinding his skull in pain, Asia dreaming of future glory in eastern lands, Enceladus brooding with warlike fury and already plotting a "second war," and others including Atlas, Phorcus, Oceanus, Tethys, Clymene, and Ops, wife of Saturn. Saturn, seeing Thea's dread as he approaches the tribe, falters but is revived by meeting Enceladus's eye, and cries out "Titans, behold your God!" prompting groans, shouts, and weeping among them. Saturn then addresses the assembly, admitting he can find no reason in law, legend, or the elements for their overthrow, and asks for counsel, turning first to Oceanus. Oceanus rises and argues that their fall follows the natural law that each new power must exceed the one before—light succeeded Chaos, the Titans succeeded Heaven and Earth, and now a more beautiful power succeeds the Titans, just as the forest surpasses the soil that fed it. He cites the beauty of "the young God of the Seas," his own successor, as proof, and counsels the Titans to accept the truth as their comfort. Clymene then speaks timidly, describing how, standing on a pleasant shore, she heard music of unbearable sweetness carried from a neighboring island and a voice repeatedly crying "Apollo! young Apollo!"—an experience that filled her with mingled joy and grief and drove her to flee in tears. Enceladus scorns both Oceanus's philosophy and Clymene's "baby-words," rousing the Titans to wrath and vengeance against Jove, and reminds them that Hyperion, "our brightest brother," remains undisgraced. At this, Hyperion's radiance suddenly floods the whole dark region. Enceladus, Iapetus, Creus, and Phorcus rise and go to him, shouting Saturn's name, which Hyperion echoes from his height, while the other Titans take up the cry in mixed uproar and grief. The narrative then shifts to Apollo on Delos, weeping by a stream at dawn, when the goddess Mnemosyne appears before him. She recalls having watched over him since infancy and asks him to reveal the cause of his sorrow. Apollo, though he can name her, confesses he cannot explain his own grief or restless yearning, questioning her about the stars, the sun, the moon, and the source of thunder's power, and says that gazing on her silent face pours "knowledge enormous" into him, deifying him. As his eyes fix on Mnemosyne, violent convulsions seize him—likened to a death-throe transforming into new life—and Mnemosyne raises her arms as if in prophecy. Apollo shrieks, and light begins to break from all his limbs. The text breaks off at this point, mid-transformation.
By John Keats · First published 1818 · Genre: Romantic Poetry, Mythology, Epic Poetry · 3 chapters · 6,837 words
First lines
Deep in the shady sadness of a vale
Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn,
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Hyperion, A Fragment is listed on Textopian as a novel by John Keats, dated 1818 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: John Keats
- Date: 1818 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Romantic Poetry, Mythology, Epic Poetry, Classical Literature
- Length: 6,837 words
- Structure: 3 chapters, 834 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Genres
- Romantic Poetry — Hyperion, A Fragment is a poem written by the English Romantic poet John Keats, and is considered to be one of his major works.
- Mythology — The poem is based on the Greek Titan Hyperion, and draws heavily from Greek mythology.
- Epic Poetry — Hyperion, A Fragment is an epic poem, written in blank verse and divided into four books.
- Classical Literature — The poem is heavily influenced by classical literature, with references to Homer, Virgil, and Ovid.
Tags
Romanticism · Epic · Mythology · Nature · Beauty · Sublime · Imagery · Symbolism · Philosophy · Mortality · Divinity · Human Experience