"Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains”: Opium Poems Of John Keats

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Although the early nineteenth century saw the rise of literature, particularly poetry, it was also the age of the rise of opium use. Opium was once used for pain alleviation and disease treatment. Opium trade grew in popularity and it became a commodity in the 18th and 19th centuries. Poor people were dismissed by some doctors, who suggested that they buy opium straight from pharmacies. Opium was first prescribed as a medicine, or as a component of a medicine, to treat sickness and disease. Later, it was used for recreational purposes. The sale of opium on the streets resulted in a rise in its consumption. Because of the visuals and new visions it produced, some Romantic writers utilized opium to boost their creativity and inspiration. Various 19th Century writers' works have been shown to be influenced by opium use in some critical studies. Samuel Coleridge, De Quincey, Lord Byron, Percy Shelly, and John Keats are just a few of the famous Romantic poets who recorded their opium use for medical reasons or to express themselves creatively. Opium was used to cure rheumatism by Coleridge and for tooth pain by De Quincy. Shelly and Byron, on the other hand, used it for relaxation as an escape from thinking. Some critics believe that Keats's use of opium influenced his creative ability. They believe that he did not use drugs during his earlier literary career, but had already started to use opium upon publishing  the second edition of his poetry, which directly impacted his creativity. Through a historical and textual analysis, this paper sheds light on the Opium Poems, particularly in his second collection. It attempts to analyze poems that give a clear impression of the impact of the poet's abuse of opium during the process of poetic creation.

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