Present In Ode To A Grecian Urn example essay topic

John Keats (1795-1821) is widely perceived as one of the best poets from the Romantic era. As in most Romantic work, the emphasis is placed on beauty. This beauty is then most often expressed in mythology, nature and personal emotion. Keats presents images clearly and simplistically with a definite sense of joy and pain and an ever-present infinite pathos and tenderness (Downer 1969: 7-8). Of his vast collection of poetic work, Keats' odes are often argued to be his best work in which he creates. ".. a new class of lyrical poetry" (Downer 1969: 12). It is clear that the odes were composed in a state of deep reflection and depending on the mood or theme of the poem, they vary from pensive to felicitous.

At the same time the odes are. ".. always self-contained and natural" (Downer 1969: 12). The central and most obvious elements of Keats' work in general - Nature, Hellenism and Romance - are also found in his odes, but there is also another significant element present - that of the mental state of Keats himself (Downer 1969: 12). In this assignment two of the odes, namely 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' and 'Ode on Melancholy' will be analysed and discussed with reference to the important themes of the sense of the fleetingness of life and thoughts on eternity and immortality. In 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' a higher sate of philosophical thought is reached than in any other ode of Keats and the Philosophy of Art and the Ethics of Life are touched upon. The degree of personal emotion present in the poem leaves Keats free of any objective thought. A definite undertone of pathos can be observed in the fact that pain always seems to be present even in a state of passion and pleasure.

This pathos does, however, seem to elevate the general thought of the poem which involves the contemplation of Beauty that Keats equates with Truth. The advantages of plastic art over human life in regard to permanence are clearly illustrated and thus the themes of transience and immortality (Downer 1969: 36). In 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' the poet views an old Grecian urn and recounts to the reader how the urn looks. He then goes deeper by expressing awe at the fact that the urn has survived for such a long time and how the imagery on the urn's surface is able to tell a more meaningful story than a poem would have been able to. Emphasis is also placed on the fact that the figures depicted on the urn will live on into eternity and by doing this Keats makes the reader aware of the fact that human life is transient. An external analysis of the ode reveals five regular stanzas each comprising a quatrain and a sestet.

The rhyme in each stanza differs and the irregularity can be found throughout in the last three lines. With regard to metre, the poem is written in iambic pentameter. The poem begins with a very striking metaphor. The use of the word "un ravished" indicates that the urn is unspoilt - even pure - and has been able to survive the long time since it was created, relatively intact. In the first two lines particular emphasis is placed on silence and this theme of silence is further explored in the rest of the poem as well (Pettet 1957: 321-322). "quietness", "silence" and "slow time" all illustrate the noiseless state in which the urn exists and by being the "foster-child of silence" it is suggested that the urn has been adopted by this quiet and that it has been in this muted state for a long period stretching from the classic time in which it was created to the modern time (Downer 1969: 43). According to Jack (Jack 1967: 214) this emphasis on silence links with the well-known observation of Simonides that a poem is a speaking picture, while a picture is a silent poem.

It is thus clear that Keats is not merely concerned with the aesthetic beauty of the urn, but also with silence and time which serves as a link between the ancestors and their offspring for all eternity (Blackstone 1959: 332). The urn is also equated to a "historian". This metaphor serves to explain that the urn functions as a type of storyteller in the depiction on the urn's surface. The "flowery tale" links with the abovementioned function of the urn and refers to the flowery or leaf-like decorations on the urn.

In line 4 a comparison is made between the expressive power inherent in visual art and poetry. Keats prefers visual art and it is clear that he perceives the deeper, hidden meaning of the figures of the urn. By using "legend" the reader once again gets the idea of a continued and sustained situation. The ethereal and romantic nature of the story depicted on the urn is suggested by the word "haunt" (Downer 1969: 45). In the sestet at the close of the first stanza Keats asks a series of questions regarding the identity of the characters and the setting in which they are found.

He leaves these questions unanswered, however, because by not providing answers it leaves the possibility for the imagination to intervene, much as what happens in visual art (Downer 1969: 45). In the first four lines of stanza 2 the abovementioned power of art to stimulate the imagination is expressed further. Keats believes that the melody of the piper figured on the urn is much more "sweeter" than music which is physically heard as it requires the use of imagination. What makes it even more special, is the fact that every person will have a unique idea of what that melody sounds like. In line 3, the "sensual ear" refers to the ear of sense. Line 4 seems to add a light touch that continues for the rest of the stanza.

The figures and foliage seems almost to be alive (Downer 1969: 47). The repeated idea of silence comes through in this stanza by the usage of words like "unheard" and "ditties of no tone". The central theme of this ode and one of the most important qualities of art, namely the permanence of it in comparison to the transience of life, is quite clear in the closing sestet of stanza 2. While the actual piper, the trees and the lover with his object of affection have long since passed away, they will remain forever more as images on the surface of the urn; thus in the form of art. In line 8 we see that although the lover will never be immersed in an actual kiss with his beloved, he is actually extremely privileged as he will always be with his beloved and neither of them will be withered away by time. Stanza 3 is a continuation of the thought in stanza 2 about the permanence of life.

Everything that is fleeting in real life - the trees, the piper and the lovers - lives forever in art. They are all blessed, .".. for whatever Art may sacrifice of the loveliness and freshness of Nature, it attains permanence, which Nature attains not" (Downer 1969: 48). Whereas stanza 1 emphasised the advantage of art over poetry, here we see the advantage it has over nature. Permanence is not, however, the sole advantage. Images in art can attain elements of calmness, elevation and perfect joy. Downer (Downer 1969: 48) rightfully proclaims that in this ode it is made clear that art has the. ".. power to awaken the imagination to yet more sweet and exalted perception than reality...

". Stanza 4 introduces a new scene where a fawn is led to slaughter as part of a sacrificial, religious ceremony. Silence once again comes into play in this stanza with the comment on the town that. ".. for evermore will silent be... ".

The repetition of "little town" seems to suggest a playful tone. The image of this town that will remain silent for all eternity and will leave a bundle of unanswered questions is according to Downer (Downer 1969: 48) not so much sad as it is a little pathetic and it evokes a sense of empathy in the audience and the reader. "Attic" in stanza 5 refers to Athens, which is the centre of Greece, which in its turn is the mother of all arts. "Fair Attitude" is used in reference to the urn that appears extremely beautiful as it stands to be viewed. In lines 4 and 5 Keats makes it clear that it is just as unfathomable for the human mind to grasp the ideas and the feelings that the urn evokes as it is to encompass eternity. The same confused feeling that is produced when an attempt is made to grasp the meaning of the imagery on the urn, is produced when trying to fathom the infinite (Downer 1969: 49).

It is important to note that the urn stands central amidst the "woe" of the world. Blackstone (Blackstone 1959: 329) argues that the urn thus functions as a friend to mankind that has the power vested in it to soothe and admonish. It maintains its ancient dignity but has become more approachable over the ages. The urn exhibits the great aim of art - .".. to soothe the cares and lift the thoughts of man" (Blackstone 1959: 329). The message of the urn as well as the moral of 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' are often said to be encapsulated in line 11 when Keats proclaims, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty...

". It is the last two lines of stanza 5, which then carries the real interest of the poem and two philosophical ideas. According to Downer (Downer 1969: 50) these two ideas are. ".. the Incomprehensibility of the Infinite in Art and Nature and the Ethics of Beauty... ". It is Keats' conviction that Beauty is the touchstone of Truth. Keats' 'Ode on Melancholy' is very closely related to 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' in regard to the time of composition, its poetic substance as well as the logical statement around which it centres.

Where 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' very specifically illustrates the experience of beauty, 'Ode on Melancholy' merely makes a statement on this experience. The Romantic idea of the fact that the experience of joy, ecstasy and beauty is always and inevitably linked to sorrow, comes across as the central theme in 'Ode on Melancholy' (Caldwell 1965: 166). According to Caldwell (Caldwell 1965: 167) the same idea can be found in 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' as the poet experiences an intense sense of joy while regarding the urn, but he is indeed fraught with sadness when he realizes that; while the characters on the urn and the urn itself will live on for eternity, his death is inevitable and thus "Mortality weighs heavily as the poet contemplates (the various images)... ". (Caldwell 1965: 167-168).

We see in 'Ode on Melancholy' that Keats views the passing away of joy and the fading and dying of beauty as the worst melancholies. In this poem the reader is constantly made aware of the paradox between the experiences of joy and sadness as well as the close relationship between these two emotions (Downer 1969: 86). Jones (Jones 1969: 216) points out that 'Ode on Melancholy' is an ode of consciousness where the consciousness. ".. is spatial ised into a landscape of the head" which the reader can clearly distinguish from the "art-space" present in 'Ode to a Grecian Urn'. These two different spaces or spheres link with Keats' idea about the actual experience of life and the thoughts surrounding immortality.

Art also comes into the argument, as it is just as important an aspect as life. Although a much more intensive analysis can be made of a larger collection of poetic works by Keats, it is obvious that he was intrinsically a Romantic poet whose contention it was that there is an ever-present conflict between man's sense of life's transience and his immediate understanding of the infinite.

Bibliography

Blackstone, B. 1959.
The Consecrated Urn. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Caldwell, J.R. 1965.
John Keats' Fancy. New York: Octagon Books. Downer, A.C. 1969.
The Odes of Keats. Folcroft: The Folcroft Press. Jack, I. 1967.
Keats and the Mirror of Art. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Jones, J. 1969.
John Keats' Dream of Truth. London: Chat to & Wind us. Pettet, E.C. 1957.