How Many Bards Gild the Lapses of Time!
How Many Bards Gild the Lapses of Time! - meaning Summary
Echoes of Poetic Influence
Keats reflects on the many earlier poets whose works he admires and who visit his imagination when he composes. Their presence enriches his creative life without causing confusion; he compares them to evening sounds—birds, leaves, water, a distant bell—that blend into a harmonious background rather than a disruptive clamor. The poem presents artistic influence as a comforting chorus that aids, rather than overwhelms, his own poetic voice.
Read Complete AnalysesHow many bards gild the lapses of time! A few of them have ever been the food Of my delighted fancy,—I could brood Over their beauties, earthly, or sublime: And often, when I sit me down to rhyme, These will in throngs before my mind intrude: But no confusion, no disturbance rude Do they occasion; 'tis a pleasing chime. So the unnumbered sounds that evening store; The songs of birds—the whispering of the leaves— The voice of waters—the great bell that heaves With solemn sound,—and thousand others more, That distance of recognizance bereaves, Makes pleasing music, and not wild uproar.
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