The urn is described by the narrator as being representative of a couple different things: a virginal bride and a foster child. The imagery on the urn represents more than a work of art for the narrator; it represents
a teller of tales, a wisdom giver
.
What symbols do you find in Ode on a Grecian Urn?
The Grecian urn symbolises an important paradox for Keats: it is a work of applied art (urns being associated with death), silent, motionless and made out of cold materials, yet at the same time it moves him with its vitality and its imaginative depictions of
music
, passion and sacrifice.
How does Keats describe the urn what images are on it?
In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the urn was likely a product of Keats' mind,
based on images of vases, sculptures and paintings
. The scenes depicted are a Dionysian celebration, lovers about to consummate, a pastoral piper and a procession having some religious purpose.
How do the scenes depicted on the urn differ from real life?
The scenes on the
urn are perfect
; life is not. The scenes on the urn sum up specific elements of life really well. They are selected and symbolic. … Most importantly, the scenes on the urn remain perfect, while life changes.
What is depicted on the urn?
The urn is a historian of rural scenes, which it depicts better
than does the poetry of the speaker's era
(or perhaps language more generally). The speaker wonders what stories are being told by the images on the urn; whether the figures it depicts are human beings or gods, and which part of Greece they are in.
What can the lover on the urn never do?
Imagined melodies are lovelier than those heard by human ears. Therefore the poet urges the musician pictured on the urn to play on. His song can never end nor the trees ever shed their leaves. The lover on the urn
can never win a kiss from his beloved, but his beloved can never lose her beauty.
Why did the persona say do not grieve?
Through apostrophe, or the direct addressing of the inanimate “Bold Lover,” the speaker hints at the paradox: “Do not grieve,” he says. Yet the lover,
because abstract and not alive
, is as incapable of grief as he is of ever “winning near the goal.” Grief is the negative side life's process: the painful result of love.
What is the meaning of Grecian urn?
/ˌəʊd ɒn ə ˌɡriːʃn ˈɜːn/ /ˌəʊd ɑːn ə ˌɡriːʃn ˈɜːrn/ a long poem (1820) by John Keats which describes how perfect art is when compared with natural things that change and grow old. Its most famous lines are:“
Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know
.”
What do the last two lines of Ode on a Grecian Urn mean?
Unlike art, life is mutable; humans are able to fulfill their love, although they are also doomed to lose it. The meaning of the enigmatic last two lines—“ ‘
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
,'—that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know”—has been much debated.
Why does the speaker praise the urns immortality so much?
Why does the speaker praise the urns immortality so much? He praises it
because it has everlasting beauty
, and it only needs to know its own beauty to contribute a purpose to life.
Why is the urn a foster child of silence and slow time?
It is therefore “silent.” The urn is the foster-child of “slow time” because,
having lasted so long with its images relatively unfazed, it is as if time has slowed down for the urn
, making it seem more young/new than it actually is. … To Keats, the speaker, the images on the urn are frozen but they symbolize life.
What does the speaker refer the urn to?
The speaker calls the urn
a ‘Cold pastoral'
because, although it depicts a vibrant pastoral scene, the people in the painting are without life.
What is the meaning of Unravished bride?
:
not ravished Thou still unravished bride of quietness
…—
What is the flowery tale the urn tells?
The tale told by the urn is
“flowery”
and “sweet,” as if you could bury your nose in it like a bee inside a daffodil. This is appropriate, because this particular urn depicts scenes that are set in nature. Moreover, “flowery” works as a pun. A tale is “flowery” if it's complicated and has a lot of ins and outs.
Why is the bride still Unravished in Ode on a Grecian Urn?
In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the urn is described as a “still unravish'd bride”
because the images on its sides are forever frozen in time, never to reach a conclusion.
What does he admire so much about the urn?
Expert Answers
In my opinion, the speaker of “Ode on a Grecian Urn ” admires
the immortality of the urn's subjects
(and of the urn itself) even more than its beauty.
