Stylistic Analysis of John Keats' "Ode on Melancholy": Exploring Phonological, Graphological and Lexical Elements

Abstract

"Ode on Melancholy" by John Keats is a masterpiece of Romantic poetry notable for its in-depth analysis of human emotions and the human problem. He is an English poet whose work greatly influenced the romantic poets of the 19th century. His work attracted the attention of many critics who approached his texts intending to analyze them. The current research is qualitative and exploratory in nature. The current study examines the ode from a stylistic perspective focusing on three levels: phonological, graphological, and lexical. Phonological analysis focuses on the study of human language sounds and how they function and pattern in a certain language or languages. This study analyzed phonological elements such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, personification, anaphora, apostrophe, and symbolism in the poem to reveal its acoustic effects. The graphological level focuses on the visual features of the language, such as punctuation. This study is intended to discover how the visual structure of the poem affects the reader's interpretation and emotional response by studying these components. The lexical level investigates how individual words and phrases are blended in various patterns in various language settings. This level is all about parts of speech, and it is supported by TagAnt software. This study provided a thorough investigation of these phonological, graphological, and lexical aspects and highlighted a new perspective on "Ode on Melancholy." It not only expanded our understanding of Keats' literary style but also shed light on the links between stylistic elements and the emotional impact of the poem.