Keats
As I sat down and read Keats "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" I was very intrigued on how much more difficult it really is to attempt to define what I think the author is really trying to portray in his writing. I find it difficult to gain a mental picture of the authors ideas because I keep seeing something else, not what the author really meant to portray. I will start off this paper with Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn." The first stanza in this poem seems like he is talking to an urn that is sitting on a shelf or over a fireplace. He seem to be asking it questions. In this example Keats states "What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? As I read this line in the poem, it seems that Keats is talking to this urn and asking it what kind of things or the meaning behind all the carvings on the urn. He is asking the urn what legend haunts this urn is it deities or mortals, or could it be both. He is looking for answers to the questions he has about this urn. In the second stanza I get the idea that he is hearing something or trying to listen for something, maybe he is waiting for the urn to speak back to him or even give him
a sign. I an getting two kinds of hearing in this stanza, one is the urn hearing sounds of the non world and two human hearing real world hearing. He starts the second stanza by saying "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on. Here he is stating that there are soft pipes playing sweet music on the urn but we cannot hear what is being played, this is why he says heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter. This is where we get the idea of the supernatural and the hearing of the non-world. Again he says "Not to the sensual ear, but, more endeared, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:" Here he is just painting another picture of the non-world hearing but we as humans cannot hear. He paints a more vivid picture that can be seen very well. In the last and final line of the poem he states her blood was frozen slowly, and her eyes were darkened wholly because she has died and this explains the curse that was placed on her after the mirror was broken. She claimed of a curse and the curse got the best of her and ended her life in her lonely dungeon tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------
Some common words found in the essay are:
Grecian Urn, Lady Shalott, line poem, lady shalott, , ode grecian urn, sweet unheard sweeter, Ode Grecian, heard melodies sweet, melodies sweet unheard, loose line, unheard sweeter, legend haunts, mirror broken, urn stanza, melodies sweet, read poem, soft pipes,
Approximate Word count = 807
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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