What, according to Keats, is the aim of poetry? (MEG 102) (SECOND GENERATION OF ROMANTIC POETS)

According to John Keats, the aim of poetry is to provide a means of escape from the mundane realities of life and to allow the reader to enter into a world of imagination and beauty.

Keats believed that poetry should be "a thing which enters into one's soul," and that it should provide an experience that is both pleasurable and profound. He saw poetry as a way of transcending the limitations of ordinary experience and accessing a higher, more meaningful realm of existence.

In his famous concept of "negative capability," Keats argued that the poet should be able to embrace ambiguity and uncertainty, and to dwell in a state of creative receptivity without necessarily seeking resolution or closure. This allowed the poet to explore complex and contradictory emotions and experiences, and to convey a sense of depth and richness that went beyond the surface level of ordinary language.

Overall, Keats believed that the aim of poetry was to provide a means of accessing the deepest truths and values of human existence, and to offer a glimpse into a world of beauty, imagination, and transcendence that is often obscured by the distractions and difficulties of everyday life.