# LXXXII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by John Keats.

## What happens

The speaker describes floating over crowded streets filled with holiday celebrations, banners waving, and a thunderous roar echoing through the city, comparing the scene to the sea flooding a rocky shore.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker observes the festive city from above.

## Key lines

> Onward we floated o’er the panting streets, That seem’d throughout with upheld faces paved; Look where we will, our bird’s-eye vision meets Legions of holiday; bright standards waved, And fluttering ensigns emulously craved Our minute’s glance; a busy thunderous roar, From square to square, among the buildings raved, As when the sea, at flow, gluts up once more The craggy hollowness of a wild-reefed shore.

We drifted above the bustling streets, which appeared paved with upturned faces; everywhere we looked, we saw crowds celebrating, with bright flags and banners competing for our attention. A loud, busy roar spread from square to square through the buildings, like the sea filling the hollows of a rocky shore at high tide.

_The speaker describes a panoramic view of a festive city from above._

## Links

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