Ode on a Grecian Urn
John Keats (1795-1821)
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Fell in love with a woman named
Fanny Brawne. Writing some of his
finest poetry between 1818 and 1819,
Keats mainly worked on "Hyperion," a
Miltonic blank-verse epic of the Greek
creation myth.(Inspiration on how he
wrote such loving and admiring
poems)
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In July 1820, he published his third
and best volume of poetry, Lamia,
Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and
Other Poems. The three title poems,
dealing with mythical and legendary
themes of ancient, medieval, and
Renaissance times, are rich in imagery
and phrasing (Explains the Poet’s style
)
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The fragment "Hyperion" was
considered by Keats's contemporaries
to be his greatest achievement
Background Information
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English Romantic poet John Keats
was born on October 31, 1795, in
London
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Had a tough childhood lost both his
parents at a young age
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In 1816 Keats became a licensed
apothecary, but he never practiced
his profession, deciding instead to
write poetry. (Knows it’s his Passion)
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A group' of poets influenced Keats to
see his first volume, Poems by John
Keats, published in 1817
Overall Things to Keep in Mind
Themes:
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The purpose of art and beauty
Reality - what is truth and what isn’t?
Human emotion
Poetic Devices:
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Word choice - fit with the
mood of each stanza
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Sounds - musical places,
words with soft sounds that
flow easily together
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Use of questions to stir ideas,
thoughts, and emotions
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Personification - the speaker
personifies the vase in places,
watch out for this!
Structure of Stanzas:
1.
2.
First half talks about the way the urn
looks in real life (visual)
Second half contemplates what
those stories really mean
(significance, emotion)
Sosibios Vase
John Keats used this vase
for inspiration for his poem
Ode on a Grecian Urn and
gave his poem the some of
the classical Greek ideas
which are incorporated in
the poe.
Stanza One:
Use of questions - what is their purpose? How is the vase
portrayed? What era do you think the vase is from and how does Keats show this?
How is the end different from the opening?
Stanza Two:
Love and innocence - how does rhyming play a role in this stanza?
What imagery does he use here? What message do you think he is trying to send
about love and innocence?
Stanza Three: Happiness and passion - what scene on the vase is described in
the first half of the stanza? Is this similar or different to the images about passion
portrayed in the second half of the stanza?
Stanza Four: Use of Questions - what is their purpose? How might these
questions relate to a characteristic of the romantic era? What mood do they create?
Which part of this stanza is the true way the vase looks and which part is back-story
imagined by the speaker?
Stanza Five: Beauty and truth - how does the speaker personify the urn? How
does he portray beauty and truth? What message do you think he is trying to send?
Stanza One
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?
Stanza Two
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!
Stanza Three
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.
Stanza Four
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.
Stanza Five
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."
Essential Questions:
Does having tough life lessons tend to draw out a more passionate work from
individuals?
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Based off of the poets story we see that he is driven by his past
experience, it that is makes his poetry more dramatic and in depth.
Experience doesn’t always lead to strong works.
How does Keats take a classical work (the Greek vase) and talk about it in a
romantic way?
What is the overall message? Does the message change throughout the
poem? (Does the ending suggest something different from the rest of the
poem?)