Ode on a Grecian Urn
John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” portrays the speakers’ attempt to express his emotions about the urn’s painted images. As the poem progresses, we see his frustrations in that attempt. The narrator progresses first by asking the urn direct questions. He then tries to identify with the characters on the urn, and finally he forces his own context onto the characters. Throughout each of these three progressions, the narrator experiences personal transformations that prove him a dynamic character. The speaker is dynamic in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” because in the end he realizes that while he cannot fully identify with the characters on the urn, he can find meaning in their beauty. In the first stanza Keats writes, “Thou still unravished bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of silence and slow time…A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme…What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?” (Keats, p869) To the speaker, at first, the urn is mesmerizing. The pictures, motionless like a statue, consume him. He is attracted to the silence and mystique of the urn. The speaker knows the splendor of the tale that the urn holds and wishes the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1277
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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