“Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, 02/14/12

“Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring'd legend haunt about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal - yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

REACTION

While reading this poem I believe that I actually fell asleep. The poem is very lengthy and well structured. The poem is obviously about a man looking at an urn. Keats uses great imagery to describe the scenes depicted on the urn, but does not dive into enough detail such that the reader is left with no room to image the urn for themselves. Keats also makes good use of figurative language. The man in the poem seems to be reflecting on the themes of time, nature, and innocence.

PARAPHRASE

The speaker addresses this urn that depicts a wild, romantic, intense scene. As he looks at it, he becomes captivated by what he sees. It's as if the pictures have life, and the speaker can imagine their intense feelings/actions. He's enthralled by the way his imagination is triggered by this scene he encounters on this urn, this piece of art. Since the images are alive in his mind, it's even sweeter than it would be if he were actually witnessing something or hearing music. Plus, there's something even more romantic in this frozen moment pictured on the urn. The scene he encounters will never change. It, therefore, will never be changed by time. In that way, he sees that the trees are "happy, happy boughs!" and the couple have "happy, happy love!" That is, it is perfect in its captured essence. By the end of the poem, the speaker relates the joy of this scene on the urn to the joy of his poem. He shows the readers how they, too can experience this frozen moment of joy. The message that both forms of art give to us is that "Beauty is truth, truth beauty". To understand this, you have to translate what "truth" means to you. To me, it's the essence of all that is real and good. And beauty, which comes from an encounter with art, is truth. "That is all...ye need to know." In other words, that simple fact captures this intense feeling that almost seems beyond words. Hope this is helpful.

SWIFTT:

Syntax- Each of the five stanzas in “Ode to a Grecian Urn” is ten lines long, metered in an iambic pentameter, and divided into a two part rhyme scheme, the last three lines of which are variable. The first seven lines of each stanza follow an ABABCDE rhyme scheme, but the second occurrences of the CDE sounds do not follow the same order. In stanza one, lines seven through ten are rhymed DCE; in stanza two, CED; in stanzas three and four, CDE; and in stanza five, DCE, just as in stanza one. As in other odes, the two-part rhyme scheme creates the sense of a two-part thematic structure as well. The first four lines of each stanza roughly define the subject of the stanza, and the last six roughly explicate or develop it.

Word Choice- Many of the words chosen here are meant to purvey the idea that the urn and the pictures printed on it are eternal. “Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,” the repetition of never is meant to show that the pictures are frozen in time, the lover can never reach his love. “For ever panting, and for ever young” is another example of this idea, where the lover is forever chasing and out of breath, and the girl will never age.

Imagery- The rhetorical questions at the end of the first stanza are meant to lead the reader to a description of what is painted on the urn. Grecian urns are painted with pictures, so he is saying there is a story of a chase and maidens and struggles stamped onto the urn. Throughout the rest of the story, the speaker describes the scenes on the urn. A chase scene and a sacrifice are brought up.

Figurative Language-John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a prolonged apostrophe to an ancient piece of Greek pottery on one side of which is the image of a maiden pursued by an amorous would-be lover. The situation presents a series of paradoxes rich in ambiguity. Keats does not use simile or metaphor in this poem.

Tone- The tone of “Ode to a Grecian Urn” is dignified and serious. This is exemplified in Keats’ use of language. Phrases such as, “What leaf-fring'd legend haunt about thy shape/Of deities or mortals, or of both,/In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?” show this tone.

Theme- “Ode to a Grecian Urn” has the themes of knowledge, culture, and innocence. The theme of innocence comes into play because the urn symbolizes innocence. It is never changing and is unaffected by the suffering and hardship that come with change. The theme of knowledge comes into play because the author is obviously in a melancholy mood and looks to the urn, thousands of years older than the narrator, for advice on what to do. The final theme or art comes into play because Keates goes so far as to suggest that the most powerful truths are to be found only in art.  

CONCLUSION

My initially reaction was not very far off. The poem is very lengthy. The poem was also created to be well structured. The poem is about a man analyzing, to a degree, an urn. Keats uses great imagery to describe the scenes depicted on the urn, but does not dive into enough detail such that the reader is left with no room to image the urn for themselves. Keats also makes good use of figurative language. The man does indeed reflect on the themes of time, nature, and innocence.