# XV explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by John Keats.

## What happens

The chapter describes the suffering and exploitation endured by workers and creatures for the benefit of the wealthy, who remain half-ignorant of the pain they cause.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Critique and Mortality

The chapter critiques the indifference of the privileged class to the suffering and death of those who labor for their comfort.

## Key lines

> For them the Ceylon diver held his breath, And went all naked to the hungry shark;

For their sake, the pearl diver in Ceylon risked his life, diving naked into shark-infested waters.

_Illustrates the extreme danger faced by laborers for the benefit of the wealthy._

> Half-ignorant, they turn’d an easy wheel, That set sharp racks at work, to pinch and peel.

Only half-aware, they casually operated a mechanism that activated cruel torture devices.

_Highlights the willful ignorance of the oppressors who inflict pain without full comprehension._

## Links

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