Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats - Essay Example

?Critical Reception: Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Thesis ment 4 Critical Analysis: Ode on a Grecian Urn 4 Conclusion 7 Works Cited 8 Introduction John Keats is one of remarkable romantic poets in English literature. His passion to transcend beyond the drab, mundane worldly affairs into a realm of imagination and fancy made him immortal in the hearts of lovers and poets. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” composed by poet in the month of May, 1819 and consequently published in the month of January, 1820 is one of his finest and remarkable creations. Keats composed many other odes simultaneously in the same year and this Ode is regarded as one of the most impeccable and unparallel creation of the era. In his “Great Odes of 1819” there are also other odes like “Ode on Indolence”, “Ode on Melancholy”, “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode to Psyche”. Keats was very much dissatisfied with his forms of poetry composed during the initiation of his poetic career. He thought those forms unworthy of his purpose and deviated and devoted his poetic form towards composition of Odes. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” falls under his odes from initial days of mastering the art. The ode is divided into five stanzas, each consisting of ten lines. The ode is a description and discourse of the poet towards the scriptures engraved on the historical piece. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” metaphorically establishes relation between beauty, truth and nature connecting these features to the paradigm of eternity, soul and mortality. There are undoubtedly certain grey areas in the poem. And the fact that the ode was not very well received by its contemporary critics cannot be undermined at all. Yet, by the middle of the nineteenth century, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” started to receive some warm reception and presently it is considered as one of the greatest and immortal creations of English Language (Wolfson 86). Thesis Statement This essay intends to explore the subtle thought interplaying with the exuberant expression of the poet captivated within the lines of the famous “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. At the same time, the essay also intends to give a deep introspection to the perception expressed through the lines of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. Critical Analysis: Ode on a Grecian Urn To critically analyze Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, it is essential to comprehend the purpose of the composition. Since the days of its publication, critics have claimed that the poem actually admires and preaches whatever beautiful around us. A section of critics also emphasize on Keats’ importance to the philosophy of “beauty lies in the eyes of a beholder”. However, modern criticism opens up a volley of innovative and fresh views associated with the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. Mark Royden Winchell in his book “Cleanth Brooks and the Rise of Modern Criticism” explains that Cleanth Brooks was quite known for his exposition of the doctrine of dramatic propriety in Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. To explain this particular point, Mark Winchell explains, “ Keats may not be as witty as Donne or as densely allusive as Eliot, but his originality of metaphor and sensuousness of imagery set him apart from all other Romantics, and the Grecian Urn “Ode” is generally regarded as one of his best poems” (Winchell 224). Keats’ tremendous affinity for the sculptors of the medieval period drew him to take the urn and use this classical allusion into his poem. In this context, the aesthetic perspective associated with the poem makes it heavier and keeps the poem away from general and trivial matters. Nevertheless, there are two level of thought process operating within the poem. At the outset, the initial lines of the poem signify a stark sense of morbidity. Silence, foreboding and the Urn which is the metaphor of death itself in the poem pervades it. As one proceeds with the ode and comes across the lines: “More happy love! more happy, happy love!”(line, 25), the mind of the reader gets perplexed and confused owing to ambiguity of the poem (O'Rourke 66). At places, the poem indicates the themes of happiness. It seems as a flowery tale of love and forsaken relations but a deeper introspection into the poem leads the readers to a different culmination of thought process where poet talks about things which get frozen with time. For example, the urn itself in the poem stands for immortality or eternity. A deep introspection into the line, “When old age shall this generation waste” (line 46) evolves out a conclusion that Keats was trying to captivate the essence of mortality in mankind (Keats 34). The pertinent factual reason behind this tendency most plausibly can be the reason of Keats’ awareness regarding his approaching death and incurable disease from which he was suffering. Almost about two years after the compositions of these odes, Keats set off for his journey to a peaceful abode. The paradox and ambiguity of the poem reaches its height towards its conclusion. Andrew Bennett in his book, “Keats Narrative and Audience: Posthumous Life of Writing” suggested that the poem ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ end with raising a volley of questions. He explains, “‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ ends in an irreducibly undecidable affirmation: ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’,-that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know” Bennett also continues to explain that, “What is important and compelling in this poem is not so much what happens on the urn or in the poem, but the way that a response to an artwork both figures and prefigures its own critical response" (Bennett 134). Conclusion Ambiguities, paradox, confusion will always remain associated with the masterpiece ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’. Yet this poem will continue to remain a mystery like the urn and a veiled bride of quietness who will never come in front to narrate her agony, pain, or forsaken love. The poem since its publication has successfully attracted the minds of the critics who in every age did not leave the poem alone but continued its post-mortem and dissection. They come up with newer theories every time and unfold dark avenues with their lights of enlightenment. Nevertheless, the greatest admirers, the readers of the poem, for them it shall always remain enchantress who allures and attracts. At the same time, continues to put balm on the millions of aching hearts passing and taking refuge through the lines of the immortal verses of the greatest ode of English language, ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’. Works Cited Bennett, Andrew. Keats, Narrative and Audience: The Posthumous Life of Writing. England: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print. Keats, John. Ode On A Grecian Urn And Other Poems. United States: Kessinger Publishing, 2004. Print. O'Rourke, James L. Keat's Odes and Contemporary Criticism. United States: University Press of Florida, 1998. Print. Wolfson, Susan J. The Cambridge Companion to Keats. England: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print. Winchell, Mark Royden. Cleanth Brooks and the Rise of Modern Criticism. United States: University of Virginia Press, 1996. Print. Read More