The poem offers a detailed description of the urn, but actually reveals more about the speaker. What do we learn about the speaker from the descriptions? What does he value? What are his beliefs and possible experiences?
The speaker opens "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by comparing the urn to an "unravish'd bride." His comparison suggests that the urn is innocent, because it is "unravsh'd." The word "bride" suggests that the urn is beautiful. The speaker's comparison reveals his belief that the urn appears beautiful, and depicts innocence. Furthermore, the speaker says the urn can express "a flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme." The word "flowery" suggests innocence and beauty. When we call something "flowery" we are usually saying it is not harsh reality. The urn also tells its tale more "sweetly" than the poem. The urn depicts what appears to be beauty. It appears beautiful, because the people in it are forever young, and the lovers in the the poem will forever love each other. The fact that the people painted on the urn will never face the harsh reality of the world "dost tease us out of thought." The "men and maidens" are able to live forever, and that makes us think of forever. When we think of forever we think of "eternity," or life after death. We think of what happens after we die. The speaker thinks we hope in vain, because he thinks that "eternity" is nothing but "Cold Pastoral." The word "cold" is symbolic of death and lies. "Pastoral" refers to farmland. If farmland is cold then it is probably in winter, and grass dies in winter. The speaker believes that eternity is nothing but death; there is no truth to eternity. If humanity can not find truth in eternity, than where can it be found? The speaker says the urn tells us that "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." We see "beauty," and when we see beauty we see truth. The speaker believes that truth is what we see. He suggests that we wont find truth in our hope in what we can not see, but what we can not see. All we "need to know" is that what we see is truth.
The urn has a vast variety of paintings on it that represent a number of things. The first scene consists of the gods chasing the maidens. In this time era, the male gods disguised themselves as other animals to get the ladies. Keats wrote, "Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;" The man on the urn loves the girl so much and wants to kiss her, but cannot because it is a painting. This might relate to an experience that Keats has had in his own life. He loves a woman, yet he cannot reach her. He is stuck in a place where he cannot kiss or love on the woman he loves. The descriptions the author uses such as "silken flanks" and "garlands drest" suggest that the woman is dressed up and very beautiful. A couple lines before this, however, the author uses the world "burning" and "parching". These words show passion and feelings. In this sense, he is talking about the desire to be with this woman. I think that the author values life. "Eternity" is another word he uses to show that he values beauty and truth. Beauty and truth are all around in the urn. It has no lies, everything to know is on the urn. The urn is also eternal, meaning that nothing can destroy it except natural forces, suggested by the term, "Cold Pastoral". Keats believes that the only thing in this world that one needs is emotion and strong appreciation for something showing truth and beauty and that the only way to find this is through art.
In the poem, “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” the speaker is unhappy with himself and his love life and therefore demonstrates the urge to live in an unchanging, false reality. The speaker first develops this when he notes that the urn would be a perfect reality when he personifies it as an “unravished bride.” (line 1). This means that the pot in a sense is pure, just as the speaker wishes his reality to be: free from complications or imperfections. He then goes on to say “A flowery tale more sweet than our rhyme,” (line 4), which degrades the speaker as a poet, and elevates the urn’s ability to tell a story and keep in an endless scene of perfection. This further explicates the speaker’s admiration of the urn as a perfect reality. The speaker next shows that he value his imagination, to reality. “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/ Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on,” (lines 11-12). This quote explains that while the speaker enjoys songs he can hear, the song he is able to imagine himself due to the absence of sound coming from the urn, is much more pleasurable. Last, the speaker also shows that he values youth and love in this next quote: “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!” (lines 17-20). This quote depicts a scene on the urn where the gods are chasing women. The speaker says the god is bold to chase woman, which in contrast suggests that the speaker may be shy about doing so in reality. Additionally, he says the god is lucky because though while he may never reach the woman on the urn because he is simply art, he will forever have the feelings of love, and the woman will always stay beautiful. This shows that the speaker values youth, and lasting love. The speaker is infatuated with the life that goes on depicted on the urn, and his wish to participate or jealousy of those on it, shows he values stability, youth, and love.
In the poem “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, the speaker in the poem idolizes an urn because of the peace and happiness depicted in the scenes. Towards the end of the poem, Keats wrote “Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought / As doth eternity: Cold pastoral!” The quote explains that the urn makes the speaker think about life, and the value of quietness. Additionally, “Cold Pastoral,” seems to be a reference to pastoral life, which is known to be quiet, and unthreatening. Because the speaker values this, it could be suggested that he has had experiences in a busy, stressful life, because he yearns for the quietness that the urn depicts. The next quote Keats writes seems to be a declaration on how he feels about living life. “'Beauty is truth, truth beauty'--that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” This quote suggests that Keats values the truth as well as beauty. But he also regards them as the same. The reader could infer that the author values the good, natural things (beauty) in life, and sees them as the only way to live “pure” as he called the urn to be in the first line of the poem. This pureness is to live truthfully, and perhaps without complexities, but with more simplicities. This relates to the jealousy he seems to have for the characters illustrated on the urn because they live quiet, unchanging, simple lives, unlike the one we can infer he lives because of his jealousy.
The speaker describes the urn in a way that reveals his feelings about why life should be about beauty and truth. I think he values the beauty in the world and wants people to remember to cling to whatever beauty they can find. The speaker is infatuated with the details on the urn. The speaker starts out by questioning why these men are chasing women. He is wondering if this is a game and where the women are coming from that they need to escape. He describes the urn as an “unravish’d bride” conveying that the urn is pure and calm. He describes the urn as “unheard Are sweeter” in relation to melodies that are heard which are only sweet. I think the speaker believes that art in visual form gives more to how one feels because when you hear something you expect it but when something is unheard, you don’t expect those wonderful feelings to your ears. I think the speaker values pure beauty and the adventures in life rather than expected events. He seems to prefer surprises rather than a set lifestyle or plan. The speaker then goes into this woman on the urn that he desires. Though he can’t kiss her, the woman on the urn will never disappoint him because she’s on the urn. She won’t ever leave him or change. I think the speaker appreciates the urn because things will always stay the same on it. Though he likes adventures and surprises, he also seems like he would enjoy a stable relationship and true beauty over a woman who would not have what he’s looking for. The speaker values truth and beauty. I wouldn’t doubt he’s been through “fake” relationships or been cheated on.
In the poem "ODE ON A GRECIAN URN", it describes a man who is unhappy with his own circumstances, and wishes to remedy this by examining an old Greek pot. The scenes the speaker describes on the urn are quite joyful and hard to follow, and at first bring the speaker comfort. It turns out the urn is a better storyteller than the speaker, because it can convey themes, music, and messages better than any person could. The speaker expresses some satisfaction towards the urn because no matter what happens in your own life, the pictures featured there will never change and will always remain jolly. Then, the speaker sees the illustration of a cow being led to be sacrificed, something he imagines as a sort of holy day that closes the entire town. This makes the speaker anxious because he realizes this eternal life is not so good as he thought originally, as the empty town will never be filled again in the picture. At the very end of the poem, he explains how when his generation dies, the urn will continue telling the same stories and spreading the same messages to the next.
In John Keats'"Ode on a Grecian Urn" what we learn most about the speaker is his thoughts on love and the nature thereof. This starts in the first stanza at the mentioning of men pursuing "loth" women. This description of the urn suggests a deep lust resulting in a "mad pursuit" that women run from. This could possibly be hinting at a theme of unrequited love, as men chase after women who do not want to be with them. This theme is further solidified in the next stanza. Here the speaker is lamenting over the lover on the urn who can never actually have his love, but is doomed to spend eternity chasing her. In a strange twist however, the speaker then tells the lover not to grieve. He goes on to say that in this state his love will never fade, and he will always have that. To the speaker unrequited love may be the best kind. In his eyes someone with an unrequited love has affections and a lust that grows stronger everyday. He is unable to see wrong in the object of his affections, so she will forever be fair. She can never shatter his expectations if he can never have her in the first place. In just two stanzas the speaker reveals much on his thoughts on love. Maybe the urn is but a reflection to him of his own experiences and heartaches. He may very well long for a time when his love was unrequited, but the object of his affections embodied perfection and she had not yet had the chance to teach him the error of his thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe speaker opens "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by comparing the urn to an "unravish'd bride." His comparison suggests that the urn is innocent, because it is "unravsh'd." The word "bride" suggests that the urn is beautiful. The speaker's comparison reveals his belief that the urn appears beautiful, and depicts innocence.
Furthermore, the speaker says the urn can express "a flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme." The word "flowery" suggests innocence and beauty. When we call something "flowery" we are usually saying it is not harsh reality. The urn also tells its tale more "sweetly" than the poem. The urn depicts what appears to be beauty. It appears beautiful, because the people in it are forever young, and the lovers in the the poem will forever love each other. The fact that the people painted on the urn will never face the harsh reality of the world "dost tease us out of thought." The "men and maidens" are able to live forever, and that makes us think of forever. When we think of forever we think of "eternity," or life after death. We think of what happens after we die. The speaker thinks we hope in vain, because he thinks that "eternity" is nothing but "Cold Pastoral." The word "cold" is symbolic of death and lies. "Pastoral" refers to farmland. If farmland is cold then it is probably in winter, and grass dies in winter. The speaker believes that eternity is nothing but death; there is no truth to eternity. If humanity can not find truth in eternity, than where can it be found?
The speaker says the urn tells us that
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
We see "beauty," and when we see beauty we see truth. The speaker believes that truth is what we see. He suggests that we wont find truth in our hope in what we can not see, but what we can not see. All we "need to know" is that what we see is truth.
The urn has a vast variety of paintings on it that represent a number of things. The first scene consists of the gods chasing the maidens. In this time era, the male gods disguised themselves as other animals to get the ladies. Keats wrote, "Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;" The man on the urn loves the girl so much and wants to kiss her, but cannot because it is a painting. This might relate to an experience that Keats has had in his own life. He loves a woman, yet he cannot reach her. He is stuck in a place where he cannot kiss or love on the woman he loves. The descriptions the author uses such as "silken flanks" and "garlands drest" suggest that the woman is dressed up and very beautiful. A couple lines before this, however, the author uses the world "burning" and "parching". These words show passion and feelings. In this sense, he is talking about the desire to be with this woman. I think that the author values life. "Eternity" is another word he uses to show that he values beauty and truth. Beauty and truth are all around in the urn. It has no lies, everything to know is on the urn. The urn is also eternal, meaning that nothing can destroy it except natural forces, suggested by the term, "Cold Pastoral". Keats believes that the only thing in this world that one needs is emotion and strong appreciation for something showing truth and beauty and that the only way to find this is through art.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” the speaker is unhappy with himself and his love life and therefore demonstrates the urge to live in an unchanging, false reality. The speaker first develops this when he notes that the urn would be a perfect reality when he personifies it as an “unravished bride.” (line 1). This means that the pot in a sense is pure, just as the speaker wishes his reality to be: free from complications or imperfections. He then goes on to say “A flowery tale more sweet than our rhyme,” (line 4), which degrades the speaker as a poet, and elevates the urn’s ability to tell a story and keep in an endless scene of perfection. This further explicates the speaker’s admiration of the urn as a perfect reality. The speaker next shows that he value his imagination, to reality. “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/ Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on,” (lines 11-12). This quote explains that while the speaker enjoys songs he can hear, the song he is able to imagine himself due to the absence of sound coming from the urn, is much more pleasurable. Last, the speaker also shows that he values youth and love in this next quote: “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!” (lines 17-20). This quote depicts a scene on the urn where the gods are chasing women. The speaker says the god is bold to chase woman, which in contrast suggests that the speaker may be shy about doing so in reality. Additionally, he says the god is lucky because though while he may never reach the woman on the urn because he is simply art, he will forever have the feelings of love, and the woman will always stay beautiful. This shows that the speaker values youth, and lasting love. The speaker is infatuated with the life that goes on depicted on the urn, and his wish to participate or jealousy of those on it, shows he values stability, youth, and love.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, the speaker in the poem idolizes an urn because of the peace and happiness depicted in the scenes. Towards the end of the poem, Keats wrote “Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought / As doth eternity: Cold pastoral!” The quote explains that the urn makes the speaker think about life, and the value of quietness. Additionally, “Cold Pastoral,” seems to be a reference to pastoral life, which is known to be quiet, and unthreatening. Because the speaker values this, it could be suggested that he has had experiences in a busy, stressful life, because he yearns for the quietness that the urn depicts. The next quote Keats writes seems to be a declaration on how he feels about living life. “'Beauty is truth, truth beauty'--that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” This quote suggests that Keats values the truth as well as beauty. But he also regards them as the same. The reader could infer that the author values the good, natural things (beauty) in life, and sees them as the only way to live “pure” as he called the urn to be in the first line of the poem. This pureness is to live truthfully, and perhaps without complexities, but with more simplicities. This relates to the jealousy he seems to have for the characters illustrated on the urn because they live quiet, unchanging, simple lives, unlike the one we can infer he lives because of his jealousy.
ReplyDeleteThe speaker describes the urn in a way that reveals his feelings about why life should be about beauty and truth. I think he values the beauty in the world and wants people to remember to cling to whatever beauty they can find. The speaker is infatuated with the details on the urn. The speaker starts out by questioning why these men are chasing women. He is wondering if this is a game and where the women are coming from that they need to escape. He describes the urn as an “unravish’d bride” conveying that the urn is pure and calm. He describes the urn as “unheard Are sweeter” in relation to melodies that are heard which are only sweet. I think the speaker believes that art in visual form gives more to how one feels because when you hear something you expect it but when something is unheard, you don’t expect those wonderful feelings to your ears. I think the speaker values pure beauty and the adventures in life rather than expected events. He seems to prefer surprises rather than a set lifestyle or plan. The speaker then goes into this woman on the urn that he desires. Though he can’t kiss her, the woman on the urn will never disappoint him because she’s on the urn. She won’t ever leave him or change. I think the speaker appreciates the urn because things will always stay the same on it. Though he likes adventures and surprises, he also seems like he would enjoy a stable relationship and true beauty over a woman who would not have what he’s looking for. The speaker values truth and beauty. I wouldn’t doubt he’s been through “fake” relationships or been cheated on.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "ODE ON A GRECIAN URN", it describes a man who is unhappy with his own circumstances, and wishes to remedy this by examining an old Greek pot. The scenes the speaker describes on the urn are quite joyful and hard to follow, and at first bring the speaker comfort. It turns out the urn is a better storyteller than the speaker, because it can convey themes, music, and messages better than any person could. The speaker expresses some satisfaction towards the urn because no matter what happens in your own life, the pictures featured there will never change and will always remain jolly. Then, the speaker sees the illustration of a cow being led to be sacrificed, something he imagines as a sort of holy day that closes the entire town. This makes the speaker anxious because he realizes this eternal life is not so good as he thought originally, as the empty town will never be filled again in the picture. At the very end of the poem, he explains how when his generation dies, the urn will continue telling the same stories and spreading the same messages to the next.
ReplyDeleteIn John Keats'"Ode on a Grecian Urn" what we learn most about the speaker is his thoughts on love and the nature thereof. This starts in the first stanza at the mentioning of men pursuing "loth" women. This description of the urn suggests a deep lust resulting in a "mad pursuit" that women run from. This could possibly be hinting at a theme of unrequited love, as men chase after women who do not want to be with them. This theme is further solidified in the next stanza. Here the speaker is lamenting over the lover on the urn who can never actually have his love, but is doomed to spend eternity chasing her. In a strange twist however, the speaker then tells the lover not to grieve. He goes on to say that in this state his love will never fade, and he will always have that. To the speaker unrequited love may be the best kind. In his eyes someone with an unrequited love has affections and a lust that grows stronger everyday. He is unable to see wrong in the object of his affections, so she will forever be fair. She can never shatter his expectations if he can never have her in the first place. In just two stanzas the speaker reveals much on his thoughts on love. Maybe the urn is but a reflection to him of his own experiences and heartaches. He may very well long for a time when his love was unrequited, but the object of his affections embodied perfection and she had not yet had the chance to teach him the error of his thinking.
ReplyDelete