"On Seeing the Elgin Marbles (for the First Time)" By John Keats My spirit is too weak—mortality Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep, And each imagined pinnacle and steep Of godlike hardship tells me I must die Like a sick eagle looking at the sky. Yet 'tis a gentle luxury to weep That I have not the cloudy winds to keep Fresh for the opening of the morning's eye. Such dim-conceived glories of the brain Bring round the heart an undescribable feud; So do these wonders a most dizzy pain, That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude Wasting of old time—with a billowy main— A sun—a shadow of a magnitude. Commentary: John Keats, an English Romantic poet of the 18th century, visited the display of the Elgin Marbles depicting Greek figures that were once mounted on the Parthenon and the Acropolis of Athens. Being a very profound experience, Keats wrote a sonnet to express the humbling nature of his visit, exploring the doomed sense of mortality he felt. Divided into an octet and a sestet and written in iambic pentameter, Keats begins the opening eight lines by exploring his place as a mortal man and how he wishes he did not have to acknowledge that insignificance though it is heavily entwined in his life. His entire existence, from the highest points to the lowest points, is just a fragment of larger context though permanently impacting on his life. And all his imagined success and pride is hardly anything in the breadth of overall existence. He continuously draws on celestial bodies with a reverent tone, indicating that he is simply a man understanding his place in the world. The great beauty of Grecian society and art lays crumbling before him, and he acknowledges that he will one day crumble as well as he suffered from the devastating disease, tuberculosis. Beyond just the literal visual representation of the words in the poem, (the kite with the line about the wind and the eyes snapping open when talking about morning) I chose the angel Castiel from the series "Supernatural" to portray the purpose of Keats' message because his story is one of a fascination with humanity and a tragedy due to hubris. His very name foreshadows his fall from grace, "Cas" being the Latin root meaning "to fall" and "iel" being the Latin root meaning "from/of God". Mortality was a beautiful yet terrible thing and Cas spent much of his character arc attempting to discover his own humanity, only to realize that it was a terrifying and enormous. He lost his wings and had to walk with the common people. My favorite line from this poem that made me realize Castiel was the perfect depiction of the imagery was, "Like a sick eagle looking at the sky." And eagle is a symbol of strength and magnificence, of pride and elegant ferocity. But the eagle is grounded and must look up, forced to realize that it is no more grand than its impending death and the heavens that will watch. And this is what Cas realized, falling and losing his wings. Citation: Beeson, Charles. "The Rapture" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 30 April 2009. Television. Carver, Jeremy. "Sacrifice" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 15 May 2013. Television. Dabb, Andrew. "Dark Side of the Moon" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 1 April 2010. Television. Dabb, Andrew. "What's Up, Tiger Mommy?" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 12 October 2012. Television. Edlund, Ben. "The Man Who Would Be King" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 6 May 2011. Television. Gamble, Sera. "The Song Remains the Same" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 4 February 2010. Television. Kripke, Eric. "Lazarus Rising" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 18 September 2008. Television. Kripke, Eric. "Lucifer Rising" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 14 May 2009. Television. Thompson, Robbie. "Goodbye Stranger" Supernatural. The CW. KTLA, Los Angeles, California, 20 March 2013. Television.

• published: 11 Dec 2013
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