Ode on a Grecian Urn
An ode is a relatively long, serious poem that discusses a noble subject in a thoughtful and dignified manner. John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" shows all the characteristics composing a Horatorian ode, a consistent rhyme scheme (ABABCDE followed by a final CDE varying in order), the ode follows a definite meter of iambic pentameter and consists of five ten line stanzas. At first glance, the poem brings forth a light tone, one of wonder and amazement about the beauty of the Grecian urn. However, a deeper insight into structure and the more important literary devices reveals the underlying meanings of the ode arising from which are far more serious themes and issues.The first stanza of the poem depicts the artistic talent of the pictures painted upon the urn, as the speaker seems to peer into the side of the urn whilst standing before it. The last of lines of the Stanza consists of seven rhetorical questions, the speaker asks: "... What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and trimbles? What wild ecstasy?"(Line 9-10) The urn cannot respond to him, and his line of questioning is abandoned as he continues to peer into the side of the urn. One of the speaker's principal points about the urn is that it is free from t
The second stanza refers to a different picture that has been carved into the side of the urn. A young man seems to be playing a pipe to his lover as the sit together beneath a glade of trees. The speaker complements the piper in that his melodies are sweeter than a mortal's: "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter; therefore, ye pipes, play on;"(line 11 - 12) Melodies by mortals are definite, heard and processed by the mind. Melodies are undisturbed, unaffected by the boundaries of time, it will always be new because it is defined by the imagination of the individual. The speaker then says: "Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss" (line 17) meaning that the two can never have experiences together. An intriguing paradox can arise from this thought: the two are free from time, but are simultaneously frozen in time. They are exempted from aging and death ("forever wilt then love and she be fair"(line 20)) yet will never experience life and its emotions ("never canst thou kiss"). "Ode on a Grecian Urn" has a created deeper meaning through many literary techniques such as the rhetorical question, paradox, metaphor etc. Its structure is used to establish meaning, stanzas start off light in the first four lines in establishing subject then become serious in the final six lines and provide a deeper meaning and insight into themes and issues with the use of literary devices, it is evident in all five stanzas of the ode as each stanza refers to a different part of the urn and concludes with an overview of the importan
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Approximate Word count = 1037
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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