John Keats

John Keats was a very determined writer. Although he did not live a long life, he wrote many poems despite his illness. The poems he wrote are still famous today. One thing I found to be surprising about Keats was he learned everything he knew on his own. This surprised

me because when you read his poems, you would think he was well equipped

with an education.

I thought, "Ode on a Grecian Urn" was a very interesting poem because it uses such dynamic word usage . I loved how Keats made the urn the central symbol in the poem. With the urn being the central symbol of the poem there are so many interpertations you can get from the poem depending on your personal views.

The urn is a sculpture with many different cravings of people, animals, and plant life. The cravings on the urn are suspended in time. However this sculptor, the "urn", is used to create a sense of living and the different actions we go through in life.

A few of the interpertaions I evaluated from the poem were, life versus art and reality versus non reality. Life versus art is an interpertation I evaluated because life is short as we all know, but art lives forever. Reality versus non reality is another interpertation I evaluated and I got that from the poet in the poem who constantly is caught in between two worlds, one where nothing changes and everything stays the same and one where things change and people die.

Thou still unravished 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-fringed legend haunts about thy shape

The word "still" is a word Keats continues to use throughoout the poem and it represents time and motion. The urn is part of the real world which as we know is always changing at any rate at any time. However the life of the urn is unchanging, for example the bride is "unravish'd" and the "foster" child is the "slow time", not part of the real world. The images craved on the urn are not accountable to time even if the urn changes or is affected over "slow time".

Of deities or mortals, or of both,

In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?

What men or gods are these? What maidens loath?

What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?

What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

The rest of the lines in stanza 1 are contradicting because Keats gives us the image of a "flowery tale" in the earlier lines, only to hit us with lines filled with terror, that arent so picture pretty. The poet is not sure of the distinguishment between mortal and immortal or men and gods. Lines 8-10 show the poet to be excited, caught up in the fast actions craved on the urn. The poet who was an observer of the urn now moves on to be a participant in the life on the urn. The poet becomes emotionally involved.

The first few lines in stanza two compare the differences between the ideal world and the real world. What exactly does Keat's prefer? Does he prefer the urn life or real life? And why does he contradict himself with these lines:

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

Perhaps Keats means that the song that the musician is playing is sweet, but when there is no song to hear it is sweeter, so either way, the pipes play on.

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

Forever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Why all of sudden does Keats begin to use negative pharsing? For example, "canst not leave", "nor ever can those trees be bare", "never, never canst thou kiss", just to name a few. Why is the poet being harsh and not allowing the lovers to kiss and be in love? I wonder if he has a purpose for this. He mentions in line 8, "do not grieve", and I question who he is speaking to.Is he speaking to the readers or the craved figures on the urn or maybe both?

Ah,