Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats

Context

• Written in May 1819, "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is one of Keats' most famous odes.
• Reflects Keats' deep engagement with classical art and his exploration of the relationship between beauty, art, and truth.
• The poem captures the Romantic fascination with the sublime and the eternal.
• Keats was grappling with his mortality and the transience of life, themes that permeate this ode.

Structure and Form

• Ode is composed of five stanzas, each with ten lines.
• Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDE DCE.
• Written in iambic pentameter, maintaining a formal and reflective tone.
• The structure allows Keats to meditate on different aspects of the Grecian urn and its depiction of eternal scenes.

Key Themes

Eternal Beauty

• "For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!"
• Highlights the idea of eternal beauty captured in art, contrasting with the fleeting nature of human life.
• Reflects the Romantic ideal of finding timeless beauty in art.

Transience vs. Permanence

• "When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain"
• Emphasizes the contrast between the ephemeral nature of human existence and the enduring quality of art.
• Suggests a longing for permanence and immortality.

Imagination and Reality

• "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard / Are sweeter"
• Celebrates the power of imagination over reality.
• Reflects the Romantic belief in the superiority of the ideal over the actual.

Ambiguity and Mystery

• "What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape"
• Emphasizes the mysterious and ambiguous nature of the scenes depicted on the urn.
• Encourages contemplation and personal interpretation.

Truth and Beauty

• "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
• Presents the central philosophical idea that beauty and truth are intertwined.
• Reflects Keats' belief in the transformative power of beauty.

Similar Poems

• "Ode to a Nightingale": Shares themes of transience, beauty, and the desire to escape from reality through art and imagination.
• "To Autumn": Celebrates nature's beauty and explores themes of time and change, similar to the contemplation of the urn.
• "Ode to Psyche": Reflects on imagination and the creation of an ideal world, akin to the timeless scenes on the Grecian urn.

Line by Line Analysis

Stanza 1

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 haunts 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?

Use of sibilance throughout the stanza and the poem.

• Quietens the reader, and creates a soothing and melodic quality.
• Emphasis on the theme of silence and stillness, appreciating the urn.

"Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,"

• "Thou" is an apostrophe towards the urn.
• Personifies the urn as an untouched bride, emphasizing its purity and timelessness.
  • Consistent theme of "purity" throughout the poem.
• The verb "still" is ironic as an inanimate object cannot die nor grow old.
  • This could suggest that the urn might be destroyed.
• "Quietness" suggests serenity and peace.

"Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,"

• Describes the urn as nurtured by silence and the slow passage of time.
• "foster-child" as the urn has been passed down.
  • Silence and slow time are the urn's parents.
• Reflects the enduring nature of art.
• "slow time" is a spondee, that gives the effect of taking time and reflecting about the urn.

"Sylvan historian, who canst thus express / A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:"

• The urn is seen as a storyteller, capturing a narrative more beautifully than poetry.
• "Sylvan" suggests a connection to nature.
• "flowery tale" is a pun: flowers on the urn and flowery descriptions and art on the urn.

"What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape / Of deities or mortals, or of both,"

• Implies that the scenes on the urn are mysterious and filled with legendary figures.
• "Leaf-fring'd" adds a natural, organic element.

"In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?"

• Refers to idyllic locations in Greek mythology, enhancing the classical and pastoral imagery.
• The Vale of Tempe is a gorge in Thessaly, Greece, known for its stunning natural beauty.
  • It was associated with the god Apollo and the Muses, making it a symbol of artistic inspiration and divine beauty.
• Arcadia, or Arcady, is a region in the central Peloponnese.
  • It is often associated with the god Pan, the deity of the wild, shepherds, and flocks.

"What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? / What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?"

• Ask questions about the scenes depicted, emphasizing their dynamic and dramatic nature.

"What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?"

• Suggests a celebration or ritual, filled with music and intense emotion.
• Rhetorical questions build a climax at the end of the stanza.

Stanza 2

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!

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard / Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;"

• Contrasts actual music with imagined music, suggesting that the latter is more perfect.
  • Only imagination can picture perfection.
• "Soft pipes" refers to the instruments depicted on the urn.
• "on" is a half rhyme, further demonstrating that everything within poetry is imperfect.

"Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd, / Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:"

• The internal rhyme of "Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,"
  • Repetition of ears despite not being able to hear.
• Implies that the music on the urn is spiritual and ideal, not physical.
• The assonance of "i" in the line "Pipe to the spirit ditties"
  • Elongates the line.
• "Ditties of no tone" suggests music that transcends the physical realm.

"Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave / Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;"

• Describes a youth eternally singing beneath unchanging trees.
• Emphasizes the frozen, timeless nature of the scene.

"Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, / Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;"

• Addresses a lover who is perpetually on the verge of kissing, symbolizing eternal anticipation.
• "Do not grieve" suggests finding solace in the eternal nature of the moment.

"She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, / For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!"

• Highlights the paradox of eternal beauty and unfulfilled desire.
• Emphasizes the permanence of the urn's scenes.

Stanza 3

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.

"Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed / Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;"

• Addresses the trees on the urn, celebrating their perpetual spring.
• "Happy boughs" suggests a sense of joy and vitality.

"And, happy melodist, unwearied, / For ever piping songs for ever new;"

• Describes the musician on the urn as eternally playing fresh, new music.
• "Unwearied" emphasizes the endless energy and creativity.

"More happy love! more happy, happy love! / For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,"

• Repeats "happy" to emphasize the joy and passion depicted on the urn.
• "For ever warm" suggests an eternal state of love and desire.

"For ever panting, and for ever young;"

• Describes the lovers as perpetually youthful and passionate.
• Highlights the timelessness and vitality of the scenes.

"All breathing human passion far above, / That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,"

• Contrasts the idealized passion on the urn with real human emotions, which can be overwhelming and painful.
• Human reality, up until the reference to heaven/far above.
  • An oxymoron that there is "human passion far above".
• Syntax inverts and makes the common idea ambiguous.
  • Discussing the people on the vase.
  • Suggesting there is a middle ground between earth and heaven? Ambiguous line.
• "That leaves a heart high-" shift in tone with the hyphen.
  • Figures are posed on the urn in a perfect situation, however human love becomes flawed quickly.

"A burning forehead, and a parching tongue."

• Describes the physical effects of intense emotion, contrasting with the serene, eternal scenes on the urn.
• "parching tongue" could be a reference to a symptom of tuberculosis.
  • Keats grapples with ideas of sickness and mortality.

Stanza 4

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.

"Who are these coming to the sacrifice? / To what green altar, O mysterious priest,"

• Asks about the figures depicted in a sacrificial procession.
• "Mysterious priest" adds a sense of ritual and enigma.

"Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, / And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?"

• Describes a heifer being led to sacrifice, adorned with garlands.
• Emphasizes the ceremonial and pastoral aspects.

"What little town by river or sea shore, / Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,"

• Imagines the town from which the people came, emphasizing its tranquil setting.
• Keats contemplates the lack of context on the urn.

"Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn? / And, little town, thy streets for evermore"

• Describes the town as perpetually empty due to the eternal nature of the urn's scene.
• Disadvantages of being immortalised on the urn.
  • Perfect nature of the urn, contrasted with the imperfect active human life.
  • Keats making a commentary on experiences vs art.

"Will silent be; and not a soul to tell / Why thou art desolate, can e'er return."

• Emphasizes the eternal silence and mystery surrounding the depicted town.
• Shift in tone, the other side of the urn has darker undertones.
  • Even within this perfect world, it's haunted by desolation and death.
• Reflects on the permanence of art versus the transience of life.

Stanza 5

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."

"O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede"

• Addresses the urn as an "Attic shape", praising its beauty and intricate design.
• "Brede" refers to the detailed carvings of people and nature.
  • Pun as it's a new "breed" of people described as "brede".

"Of marble men and maidens overwrought,"

• "marble men and maidens" suggests statues thus very far from mortality.
  • Carved to perfection on the urn.
  • Human features without humanity.
• "overwrought" refers to the flowery nature of the urn being overworked and over-embellished.
  • Also literal, as glasswork is made on top of the urn.

"With forest branches and the trodden weed;"

• Describes the natural elements carved into the urn.
• Emphasizes the harmony between human and natural imagery.

"Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought / As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!"

• Reflects on how the urn's silent, eternal beauty provokes contemplation.
  • Links back to the imagery of silence at the start of the poem, removing human characteristics
• "out of thought" = un-fathomable ideas.
  • The urn, like eternity, is impossible to think through.
  • Conclusion of the paradoxes Keats presents.
  • An example of 'Negative Capability'.
• "Cold Pastoral" suggests the static, unchanging nature of the scenes.
  • Oxymoronic, cold suggests lifeless, austere and remote.
  • Timeless immortality suddenly seems unattractive.

"When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe"

• Contrasts the fleeting nature of human life with the enduring nature of the urn.
• Emphasizes the urn's permanence through generations.

"Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, / 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all"

• Presents the urn as a timeless friend to humanity, conveying a philosophical message.
• Chiasmus of "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"
  • Deliberate expression of mystery
  • Sees the urn as beautiful, however, the truth is not beauty.
  • Subjective truth to beauty is recognisable to humans immediately.
  • An idealistic version of life and experiences.

"Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

• Concludes with a universal statement about the importance of beauty and truth.
• Reflects Keats' Romantic idealism and the power of art to convey eternal truths.