John Keats
Ode on a Grecian Urn (1819)
Stanzas I and II
General introduction
Ode on a Grecian Urn
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sums up the very essence of Keat’s poetry as well as of his vision of the world: the poet’s fascination for classical art evidently played an important role in shaping his conception of beauty and of its relationship with reality.
The silent and motionless urn condenses Keats’ idealized world in a terse symbol
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: the beautifully painted scenes on its surface are far from being a frozen and dead image of a long-gone civilization: they are the incarnation of that magical healing power that lives inside beauty.
Composed in 1819, Keats’ annus mirabilis, this poem is one of the most renowned among his corpus, and one of those whose fascination is still very strong and durable.
Read the text
I
Thou still unravished bride of quietness!
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flow'ry tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
II
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endeared,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal -yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
ACTIVITIES
Comprehension and interpretation
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What is an urn? What kind of reminiscences does this word call to your mind?
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Each of the two stanzas describe a scene that is painted on the surface of the urn: can you sum them up briefly?
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Stanza I: why does the poet define the urn as “unravis’d bride of quietness” and “foster-child of silence and slow time?” How is this choice linked to Keats’ poetic ideals?
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Stanza II: why do are the “ditties of no tone” said to affect something deeper than “the sensual ear”? What do they represent?
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Stanza II: “Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, / [...] / -yet, do not grieve; / [...] / Forever wilt thou love, and she be fair!” (Stanza II):
- what situation do these verses describe?
- think about Keats’ ideas of poetry and beauty: in your opinion, what philosophical points does the poet want to push forward?
- Is there any difference between these ideals and the way passion actually affects human beings?
Textual and linguistic analysis
Rhythm and rhyme
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This poem is said to be an irregular pindaric ode (see Sources and Materials). Scan the text and go through the following points:
- How many lines are there in each stanza?
- Is this pattern coherent with the canonical one?
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Look at Stanza I:
- trace out the stress pattern. Is it a regular one? What kinds of meter does the poet use?
- identify the rhyme scheme. Are there any similarities with works you already know, from the same or from other authors?
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Now, go through Stanza II:
- identify the stress pattern: is it coherent with that of Stanza I? What are the differences, if any?
- What about the rhyme scheme? Are there any differences between the two stanzas? In your opinion, what effect does this choice convey?
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To sum up:
- are there any common patterns in the structure of the two analyzed stanzas?
- each of them can be divided into two parts of different length. Where would you collocate the splitting point?
Sound and language
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Go through Stanza I and look for alliterations: what are the two most repeated sounds? What effect are they meant to create?
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Stanza II: some words are repeated several times in this stanza. What are they? What semantic field do they belong to? In your opinion, what does the poet want to communicate through the use of this device?
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Are there any run-on lines (enjambement) in the text? What effect does this syntactic pattern have on the musicality of the poem?
Sources and materials
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Wikipedia - the Free Encyclopedia: a detailed textual analysis, critical insight, biographic notes in English and Italian.
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Wikisource: read the full original text.
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Espritsnomades.com: biographic notes and a good short article about Keats'use of allegory.
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El Cronista de la Red: a useful translation for Spsnish-speaking readers.
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