Ode on a Grecian Urn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ode on a Grecian Urn is a poem by John Keats, first published in January 1820, inspiration for which is considered to be a visit by Keats to the exhibition of Greek artifacts accompanying the display of the "Elgin Marbles" at the British Museum. The poem captures aspects of Keats's idea of "Negative Capability"; we do not know who the figures are on the urn, what they are doing or where they are going. The uncertainty, doubt, and mystery continues: readers are divided whether the poem advocates the beauty and truth of the urn, or if in reality Keats believes that anything of any real worth is, paradoxically, to be found in the transient world. The ode deals with the complexity of art's relationship with real life.
The poem begins:
- Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
- Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
and ends with the famous lines:
- 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all
- Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'
Due to uncertainty over where the punctuation is placed, it is impossible to know whether the last lines are spoken by the urn, or representative of the poet's view. Also, it may be that only "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" is spoken, and the rest is the poet's comment. This has led to significant critical division over the meaning of the famous Ode.
The equivalence of beauty and truth is found in the philosophy of Friedrich Schiller: that beauty is when the subject's true inner nature (its "truth") is truly expressed.
Because this ending couplet is in direct contrast to many of Keats' poems, for example "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" or "Lamia", in which a man is decieved by a woman's beauty, literary critics have begun interpreting it in a new way. It is now believed that the narrator, representative of Keats, was critisising the Urn, saying that all it will ever need to know is that beauty is truth and truth beauty. This is also a sign of jealousy as the narrator admires this simplicity just as he critisises yet admires the characters on the urn, who will never achieve climax yet are forever passionate.
Contents |
[edit] Parodies and Literary References
One of the English language's more famous poems, Ode on a Grecian Urn has frequently been the subject of parody. Desmond Skirrow 'summarized' it thus:
- "Gods chase/Round vase./What say?/What play?/Don't know./Nice, though."
Wallace Stevens's "Anecdote of the Jar" is often read as an amusing but vacuous lyric until it is read side by side with Keats's "Ode."
Ode on a Grecian Urn was also mentioned in William Faulkner's short story, "The Bear."
[edit] "Ode on a Grecian Urn": A Short Glossary
- timbrels - ancient type of tambourine
- Arcady - Arcadia, in Greece
- Tempe - valley between Mount Olympus and Ossa
- Sylvan - wooded, rustic
- loath - reluctant
- ditties - short, simple songs
- brede - embroidery, ornamentation
[edit] Reference in popular culture
In The Simpsons episode "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson", military cadets are shown discussing the poem, inspiring Lisa to enroll at the Military Academy.
The poem was mentioned in Studio 60 episode "4 a.m. miracle".
"Spirit Ditties of No Tone" is a song from the Deerhoof album The Runners Four.
[edit] External links
 |
This article related to a poem from the UK is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
