"A Draught of Sunshine": Keats' resounding hope in despairing times

Like Gaskell, I've had to read John Keats outside of an academic setting, and I will say that without careful study, I find Keats rather challenging. However, he is definitely worth the effort, as many will agree. Today I'll be discussing "A Draught of Sunshine". You'll find the full poem here.

The initial thought that came to mind when I first read this poem was the beautiful, otherworldly imagery. Upon reading these lines, I couldn't help but stop, take a breath and read again:

God of the Meridian

And of the East and West

To thee my soul is flown

And my body is earthward press'd. -

It is an awful mission

A terrible division;

And leaves a gulph austere

To be fill'd with worldly fear.

As "A Draught of Sunshine" is spiritual in nature, it is nearly impossible to read this poem, particularly the section above, without thinking of any faith where human beings are believed to embody a soul. I know I did, and as a Christian, I felt that I could understand and appreciate Keats at that level. This poem was published posthumously and perhaps Keats wrote it while he was suffering from tuberculosis in his last days. He undoubtedly understood that life on earth can indeed be "an awful mission". Physical human separation from God, he's stating, leaves one afraid. But alone? Only in the "worldly" sense. As he states above, his soul has already "flown" to God while his body must live on Earth where he later confesses to enduring "lonely hours". Another poignant image expresses how the body longs for the soul to be with it:

Aye, when the soul is fled/To high above our head,

Affrighted do we gaze,

After its airy maze,

As doth a mother wild,

When her young infant child

Is in an eagle's claws -

This is the desperation of death, the longing of unity with God. What better way to express this longing than with the image of a mother separated from its child! Not only does this image resonate with the human relationship of parent and child but also the Christian's relationship of God as parent and human as child. Perhaps Keats is saying that while we long to be with God, God is loth to let us be separated from him to live our human lives on earth.

While the lines beginning with "God of the Meridian" focus solely on the concept of the body longing to be with God, the poem begins with the explanation of the actual draught of sunshine Keats prefers to drink over wine. Of course, the imagery of the sunshine being drunk out of his "bowl", which is the sky, is imaginative and aesthetic to the utmost. What better way to cast away fears and woes than to look upward, where the soul is flown and where brightness abounds?

Although I've said that this poem is spiritual in nature, I think it's worth it for anyone of any beliefs to read this poem. If not to gain an understanding of hope in suffering, perhaps just for great imagery. Keats' life--so sad, so short--gives great background to this work. He was passionate and quite inspiring. He left the medical field to become a poet. How often do you hear something like that happening in these times? This is a website dedicated solely to Keats, where you'll find information about his life and a collection of his poems and letters. I encourage you to print one of his poems out and write on it, dissect it, even hang it up for some inspiration.