Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats Review - Book Report/Review Example

Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats Review number a. The urn is said to be the “foster-childof silence and slow time” as it owes its ability to create a story because of the passage of time. It can do so even by remaining silent, much like the poet.b. The urn is referred to as a “Sylvan historian” because of its ability to give a history that that connects it to the past, possibly even a mythological one.2. The immortality of the art on the urn is caused by its beauty which causes the characters on it to remain evergreen.3. a.

The fact that the work of art cannot be changed results in a situation where the lover on the urn would not be able to attain his beloved.b. The lover on the urn is in a state of perpetual proximity to his lover. He is also in a state of perpetual hope and these results in his happiness.4. The town in the poem would be empty forever, owing to its fictional nature. Here, Keats talks of the limitations that art has in depicting reality.5. The presence of a cow that is about to be sacrificed make it clear that the day that is described by the vase is a holy one.6. The nature of the sacrifice which employs elaborate rituals involving the use of flowers points to a pagan ritual.

The antiquity of the urn too makes one think that the ritual described is a pre-Christian sacrifice.7. The poet’s imagination seeks to know about why the town is empty. The poet also wishes to understand the stories that the urn may be able to convey about the town which includes the love story of the two people depicted on it and the story of the sacred cow.8. The unchanging nature of art makes it immortal, unlike human beings who change with time. This aspect of art had a special resonance for Keats as he was aware of his impending death.9. “Attitude” is used in the sense in which it is used in geometry, in line forty one, where it is used to describe the orientation of a certain object.

In this sense, the shape and angles of the vase are what is referred to.10. The thought of eternity and man’s place in it cause human beings to think. The urn serves the same purpose since it causes its viewer to think upon the nature of time itself.11. When Keats uses the word “generation”, he refers to what has been generated. In that sense, the word may refer to the poet or the general reader.12. The last five lines of the poem talk of the immortality of the urn as opposed to man’s ephemeral nature.

The urn reminds man of the beauty of the world which is what the urn stands for and all that it needs to stand for.13. Beauty and Imagination in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” Most of the poem talks of the nature of art and the role of imagination in it. In lines 11-14, Keats talks of the nature of art which is outside life and in a world of imagination where beauty is created by the work of art. In these lines, he talks about how the ultimate form of beauty is unattainable in that it exists only in a person’s imagination.

Apart from the fact that this beauty is immortal, it is also new; this is what Keats says in lines 21-24. The work of art produces ever-new impressions on the mind of its recipient. This can be seen in the poem that celebrates the ever youthful aspect of art.14. Immortality and Eternity in ArtBeauty that is seen in works of art is immortal and lasts for eternity. This can be inferred from the works of great poets who have lived in the past. Lines 26-27 from “Ode on a Grecian Urn” talk of love that is For ever warm and still to be enjoyd, For ever panting, and for ever youngThe lover on the vase and his lover are examples of such beauty as their eternal love make it possible for the reader to envision something beyond the material realm.

The poem thus, has many instances that are able to combine art and beauty to transport the reader into a realm beyond that of material interests. Works CitedKeats, John. “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. Prose and Poetry of England. New York: Seton, 2000.