Ode on 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? 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. 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! 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. 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. Ode on a Grecian Urn

Literal Sense In the first stanza, the speaker stands in front of a Grecian urn and describes it as a “historian” that can tell stories. He notices the figures on the urn and asks where they come from. Out of curiosity he asks himself questions regarding the figures on the urn. In the second stanza, the speaker looks at a different picture on the urn of a young man playing a pipe, with his lover beneath a glade of trees. In the speaker’s opinion, the piper’s “unheard” melodies are sweeter than mortal melodies because they are unaffected by time. In the third stanza, the speaker makes it clear that he is happy that the lovers’ love will never die. In the fourth stanza, he sees another picture on the urn. This time it is of some villagers taking their heifer to be sacrificed. The speaker wonders where they will go. In the final stanza the speaker says that the urn is like eternity, when he dies on the urn will remain. "SparkNotes: Keats’s Odes: Ode on a Grecian Urn." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/keats/section4.rhtml>.

Diction The poem is not obsolete because it is still being studied very carefully. The poem is vivid with many details making you feel like you are there. The etymology of some words in the poem are not relevant to the meaning of the poem.

Tone & Mood The poem conveys a romantic mood. It is highly lyrical with a lot of emotions portrayed. The poem conveys a peaceful and calming tone for the readers. Keats wants his readers to feel calm but also remembering that the images on the urn are simultaneously frozen in time. "Explanation of the Meaning and Analysis of "Ode to a Grecian Urn" a Poemby John Keats." Welcome to ArticleMyriad.com! Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.articlemyriad.com/meaning_analysis_ode_grecian_urn_keats.htm>.

Rhetorical Situation In the poem, the author is speaking to a person/thing that is either absent or present. He addresses the urn and the images on it . This seems to move him and he has many questions regarding the images. The speaker is not addressing the reader. He speaks only to the urn.

Figurative Language The poem does not contain any similes or metaphors. Personification is used often to describe the images that are seen on the urn.

Imagery The speaker mentally pictures images on the urn. He saw images such as a man playing his pipe, a group of men pursuing women, and a group of villagers leading a heifer to be sacrificed. Through his poem we can see the images that he describes in detail and we can picture his descriptions of the images such as the man playing his pipe. "Ode on a Grecian Urn Symbolism, Imagery & Wordplay." Shmoop: Study Guides & Teacher Resources. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. <http://www.shmoop.com/ode-grecian-urn/symbolism-imagery.html>.

Imagery continued Love symbolizes immortality and the speaker is in a forever state of love. The urn also represents immortality and also beauty by showing that the lovers will remain in a state of love but at the same time they will remain static and never be able to feel the death of their love.

Sound The poem uses approximate repetition. The poem does use the repetition of words such as the word “happy” in the third stanza. The poem does contain alliterations for example “Thou foster- child of silence and slow time” Keats, John. "Ode on a Grecian Urn: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for Shakespeare and Other Authors. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. <http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Keats.html>.

Sound Continued Assonance is shown in the poem “ Thou foster-child of silence in slow time” There is no onomatopoeic words. The sounds of the poem are euphony with pleasing and harmonizing effects.

Structure The poem is structured in iambic pentameter. The poem consists of five stanzas with a formal structure. Rhyme pattern appears in the poem between stanzas in random order.

Conclusion/Evaluation For the most part the author did a good job at creating a peaceful and vivid mood. The poem creates of sense of unlimited time and curiosity between the reader and the speaker. He describes the pictures on the urn in vibrant detail. The rhyme scheme contributed to the poem by making it more interesting for the reader.

Personal Reactions The poem was very intriguing. It left us in a state of curiosity. The visual images the author describes on the urn made us imagine how everything was happening throughout the poem. It did not relate to us because it describes love as an immortal thing but in reality we all know that love eventually dies out.

John Keats John Keats was born in London, England, on October 31, 1795. He was an English Romantic poet that stressed that man’s quest for happiness and joy is prevented by sorrow in human nature. In 1811 Keats became an apprentice to an apothecary in Edmonton, England. There Keats first tried his hand writing skills and produced four stanzas entitled "Imitation of Spenser. On October 2, 1815, Keats started medical studies at Guy's Hospital. He was a cautious student, but poetry affected his vivid imagination. All of Keats’ poetry is filled with a mysterious yet elevating sense of beauty and joy. His works have many possibilities but do not have just one specific answer to the problems of life. Keats’ major point was the experience of life, not perfectly understanding it. In September 1820, even with his health problems, Keats left for Italy on an invitation from the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. He died the next year in Rome on February 23, 1821, at the age of twenty-five. "John Keats Biography - Life, Children, Parents, Story, Death, Mother, Information, Born, Marriage, Time." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/Jo-Ki/Keats-John.html>.