Sylvan Historian

Whom does the poet call the 'Sylvan historian'? Why?

Expert Answers
Amy-lepore
Who are the |experts?
Certified Educator

TheOurUrncertified Educators
is the sylvan arebecause
historian real professors,
it is rather like a picture frame.  It has many carvings
along
teachers,
its sides
and
which
scholars
tell the
who
story--and
use their
each
academic
story will never change as long as the urn itself
is in tact.
expertise to tackle your toughest questions.
Educators
Among go through
those scenes a rigorous
are the application
trees (sylvan reference) which will never lose their leaves and
will
process, and every answer they submit isof weather.
stand forever strong against all elements
reviewed by our in-house editorial team.
Under the trees are the lovers who are caught forever just before...

check Approved by eNotes Editorial

Related Questions
In "Ode on a Grecian Urn," why does Keats call the urn a "Sylvan historian?"
2 Educator Answers

More »

Rebecca Owens | Certified Educator

check Approved by eNotes Editorial

Student Answers
rani16 | Student

Excellent! Thank u very much!!!

momruoff | Student

The poem begins with "thou" which means "you" and so you can assume that the narrator is
talking to someone or something.  In this case, the "you" is the Grecian Urn.   He is talking to
the urn itself as he observes the carvings on it.  He has a variety of metaphors that he uses to
describe the urn, one is an "unravished bride" and another is a "foster child" and another is a
"sylvan historian". According to Wikipedia "Sylvan refers to an association with the woods.

Specifically, that which inhabits the wood, is made of tree materials, or comprises the forest
itself. The term can also refer to a person who resides in the woods or a spirit of the wood.[1]
 tse . e te ca a so e e to a pe so o es des t e oods o a sp to t e ood.[ ]
In mythology, the term also refers to deities or spirits of the woods.[2]"

So, maybe the urn is made of wood or has pictures of trees on it, which it does, or maybe the
people on the urn are spirits of the woods.  In any case, the label, "historian" suggests
perhaps that the urn is old and has become a record of history.  Perhaps it is a wooden urn
that has recorded history on it. 

check Approved by eNotes Editorial