What Is the Theme of the Poem “Endymion”?

The main theme of the poem “Endymion” is the romantic notion of searching and actually finding an ideal love, which is otherwise often construed as whimsical. A secondary subject that the poem tackles is the contemplation of beauty, where the author imparts the idea of timeless beauty.

The poem “Endymion,” written by John Keats in 1818, was based on the Greek mythology of a young shepherd named Endymion and Selene, the goddess of the moon. During the Renaissance, the myth became associated with the Roman moon goddess Diana. In Keats narrative poem, Endymion is ardently devoted to a goddess, but in his search for Diana, Endymion falls in love with a mortal. It is later revealed that the goddess and the mortal are one and the same.