However, in line with the Paz prompt at the outset of this discussion, Keats merely uses this tradition as a bridge on which to extend toward motivation on behalf of the evolving form. The subject matter is where this work takes a step toward modernity. The manner in which Keats describes the reality of dying is startling for its time primarily because it lacks religiosity. In describing death, the poet tells, "where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies; / Where but to think is to be full of sorrow / and leaden-eyed despairs; / Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, / or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow." The notion of discussing death from a decidedly humanistic rather than spiritual perspective is more daring and innovative than perhaps we are won't to give credit for. It is remarkable that the poet would invert a steadfastly traditional form of verse in order to express himself somewhat radically.

A similar observation may be made about T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." In fact, Eliot's work is specifically recognized as spearheading a modernist movement. What distinguished modernity as a literary movement was its ambition toward self-exploration, where an embrace of more emotional, revealing and vulnerable work would mark an innovative step forward. Indeed, the poet uses Prufrock in order to reveal a vulnerable side of himself to an audience which it appears he intended...

Prufrock is deserving of scorn for being naive and self-indulgent as he criticizes his reader. He is, however, also admirable for his unabashed passion. Ironically, it is through the character himself that an embrace of tradition emerges. The character's passions suggest that he is a man who remains almost stubbornly reluctant to let go of the past. He claims at one juncture, "for I have known them all already, known them all-- / Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons / I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." (Eliot)
The seeming contradiction in using this seemingly out-of-touch character to explore a new literary subgenre perfectly demonstrates the assertion by Paz. Here as in the other poems discussed, we find that the goal is almost always innovation but that the only path to this is by standing on the shoulders of the giants who can before.

Works Cited:

Dickinson, E. (1862). #303 (the Soul Selects Her Own Society). Poets.org.

Eliot, T.S. (1917). The Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. University of Virginia. Online at http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam312/prufrock.html

Keats, J. (1819). Ode to a Nightingale. Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250 -- 1900.