# LVI explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by John Keats.

## What happens

The speaker calls upon the muse of tragedy, Melpomene, to sound mournfully as Isabel withers toward death, likened to a palm tree cut down for its balm.

## Themes in this chapter

### Sorrow and Melancholy

The chapter invokes the muse of tragedy and dwells on Isabel's impending death with mournful tones.

### Mortality and the Sublime

Isabel's withering and death are presented with a sublime, tragic grandeur.

## Character check-ins

### Isabel

Isabel is withering toward death, compared to a palm cut for its balm.

## Key lines

> Moan hither, all ye syllables of woe, From the deep throat of sad Melpomene!

Come, all words of sorrow, from the profound voice of the tragic muse Melpomene.

_The speaker calls on the muse of tragedy to express grief._

> For simple Isabel is soon to be Among the dead: She withers, like a palm Cut by an Indian for its juicy balm.

For innocent Isabel will soon die; she fades away like a palm tree felled by an Indian for its sap.

_Isabel's decline is compared to a palm tree cut down for its valuable balm._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lvi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_14_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters