Inanimate Witness of History

Abstract

John Keats is known as an English Romantic poet and his “Ode on a Grecian Urn” reflects the characteristics of romanticism which emerged in the late 18th century. Keats was the representative of both English and European romantic movement. An ancient Grecian Urn is the main focus of the poem which is built on a recognizable plan in three parts. The first stanza represents the introduction, the second, third and fourth stanza forms the main part, and the last stanza covers the conclusion. Keats analyzes pictures on different sides of the urn in detail to find out some clues about the societies living in the past. he reflects his own feelings individually without any outer interferences. The poem reflects the adversity between the permanence of art and transience of human life. The poet also interacts with the urn throughout the whole poem and searches multiple meanings. For this reason, the poem can be regarded as a journey into the mind of Keats, and thus it serves as a bridge between past and present. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how this literary piece reflects complexities of Keats’ response to life, and he tries to relate a work of art to real life.

Keywords

• John Keats
• Ode
• Romanticism
• Urn

References

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