A THING OF BEAUTY

-by John Keats

The first book of “Endymion” by John Keats details the speaker’s beliefs regarding
the power of beauty and his intentions to tell the story of Endymion.

1. The poem begins with the speaker describing at length the power he believes
that beauty holds over human life. He sees it as being a guiding force that,
when accepted and appreciated, enters into one’s heart and helps to clear
one’s path through life. Once one fully knows beauty, it will never leave. It
transforms the onlooker into the beautiful object. The second half of the
poem tells of the speaker’s plan to tell the long story of Endymion, a
character from Greek mythology. He announces his intentions, primes the
audience for a long story, and sends out a “herald” to tell the world what is
about to happen.
2. The poem A Thing of Beauty written by John Keats is about the poet’s
views on beauty and its importance in life. Before moving further, I would
like to tell that John Keats belonged to the Romantic Period, the theme of
which was “Return to Nature“.
3. The poem has is based on the theme of Romantic Poetry. The Romantic
Poets believed that the materialistic world (which was emerging fast during
those days due to the Industrial Revolution) has given birth to greed,
corruption, lust and craze for material things.
4. The Romantic Poets thus escaped to the rustic life in order to get closer to
nature, which according to them is the ultimate source of peace, happiness
and joy.

Stanza One
Lines 1-9
In the first stanza of this piece the speaker is introducing the aspects of life and
beauty that he is going to be discussing in depth in the following stanzas and
books. One must keep in mind the story of Endymion, and the immortal sleep into
which he embarks. The first line of this piece is quite well-known and begins, “A
thing of beauty is a joy forever.” This is clearly related to Endymion’s beautiful
immortality, but it has been taken down to a more human level. The speaker
believes that if something is beautiful, it gives off a “joy” that will exist throughout
time. There is no end to the “increase” of “loveliness” that will arise alongside the
beauty.
The sheer fact of the thing’s beauty will keep it from slipping into “nothingness.”
Beauty provides it with immortality but it does not alienate it from the human
world. It will still be there for those who need it, “keeping a bower quiet” and
ready. This place of rest will provide one with sweet dreams as well as health. It is
rejuvenating.
The final lines of this section speak on how the beauty will take one into the
“morrow” and when one awakens they will have made, through their sleep
alongside beauty, a “band to bind us to the earth.” The more time one spends with
beautiful things, the closer one becomes to the earth. There is nothing that can stop
this from happening, no “despondence” or absence of “noble natures.” All of
humankind has access to beauty.

Lines 10-19
Amongst the darkest days of life beauty will be there to lift away “unhealthy”
thoughts. It will be like a guide through one’s life that provides a way out of “dark
spirits” and shows on a brighter path as if guided by the sun.
Along the path that beauty makes there are, “Trees old and young” that create
“shady” spots for “sheep…and…daffodils” to live. The world is made lovely,
livable, and worthwhile because of the beauty that inhabits it. The plants that thrive
on beauty are able to create “for themselves” a “cooling covert” that protects them
from the “hot season.”

Lines 20-24
The powerful world that the speaker just described is now juxtaposed with the
world that “We have imagined for the mighty dead.” The world of the living is just
as impressive as that of the dead. They are similar in their elaborate complications
and grand landscapes.
The speaker continues to describe the way that beauty is able to move through life.
One such way is through the “tales that we have heard or read.” These stories are
passed from person to person and their “loveliness” is maintained.