BETWEEN BEING AND BECOMING THE IMAGINATIVE SELF IN KEATS’S ODE TO PSYCHE

Abstract

This study examines the problem that, in Romantic poetry, the self is often described as fluid and evolving; however, the mechanisms through which imagination constructs this evolving identity remain underexplored, particularly in John Keats’s Ode to Psyche. This study aims to analyze how imagination functions as a transformative force in shaping the self between being and becoming; moreover, it seeks to examine how Keats’s poetic language and imagery represent identity as a dynamic process rather than a fixed state. The study employs Romantic literary theory, psychoanalytic theory (Jungian perspective), and aesthetic philosophy to interpret imagination, selfhood, and symbolic structures in the poem.  A qualitative, interpretive approach was adopted; furthermore, textual analysis of Ode to Psyche was conducted alongside a review of relevant scholarly literature to identify key themes, symbols, and patterns. The findings revealed that imagination operates as an ontological force that actively constructs the self; in addition, poetic elements such as sensory imagery, mythological references, and the temple metaphor were found to represent identity as continuously evolving. The study concludes that the self in Ode to Psyche exists between being and becoming, and thus, imagination plays a central role in shaping fluid identity. Future research should explore similar themes in other Romantic texts and apply interdisciplinary approaches to further understand imaginative selfhood.