1

Critical Appreciation of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

By JOHN KEATS

What is an Ode:
Ode is typically a lyrical verse written in praise of natural scenes & abstract
ideas or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet’s interest
or serves as an inspiration for the ode.
Ode has its origin in the ancient Greek and Roman literature. At the earliest stage,
it was written to be sung with music chorus. At the time, the ode had three
parts: Strophe- to be sang by chorus moving to the left in a gesture of dance;
Antistrophe to be sung moving to the night and “Epode” to be sung standing still.
But an ode, in modern times, means a lyrical poem at serious subject and
elevated tone, written generally to shower praise upon some abstract concept are
some an animate objects. Though it originated in ancient times, it became a
popular form of poetry in England during the romantic age in the hands of such
great poets as Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats.

Features of an Ode:
An ode has these common features in them;
1- A single, unified strain of exalted lyrical verse.
2- Tends to focus on one purpose and theme.
3- Its tone and manner is typically elaborate, dignified, and imaginative.
4- There are three types of Odes in English: 1) the Pindaric or Regular ode; 2)
the Horatian or Homo-strophic; and 3) the Irregular ode
5- A classic ode is structured in three major parts:
(a) The Strophe (b) The Antistrophe (c) The Epode
6- The best of the odes have been written in the Romantic period.
Ode is an elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or
individual, describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally.

1
2

Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats

Introduction:
John Keats was an English poet prominent in the second generation
of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, although
his poems were in publication for only four years before he died
of tuberculosis at the age of 25. The poem was published in the year
1819.The poetry of Keats is characterized by sensual imagery, most
notably in the series of odes. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is the loveliest poem
of Keats. Robert Bridges says about it:
“I could not name any English poem of the same length which contains so much
beauty”.

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a well-built poem in three parts: introduction,

main subject and conclusion. The first stanza gives the introduction; the
second, third and fourth stanzas describe the main subject, and the fifth
stanza presents the conclusion. The introduction describes the mystery of
the urn and shows what questions the images painted on the urn pose to
the poet; the main subject consists of the scenes on the urn as Keats sees
them not with his physical sight but with his imaginative sight. The
conclusion answers the question which the poet has raised in the first
stanza. Thus Graham Hough remarks that:
“The poem has what Aristotle would call a beginning, a middle and an end.”

Setting of the Poem:

“Ode on a Grecian Urn" has two settings: the speaker’s world and the world
of the urn. The speaker’s world consists of the urn and himself. He is most
likely viewing an urn at the British Museum, or in someone’s private collection.
There are at least three images depicted around its circumference: First with a
guy chasing a beautiful girl, Second with a young man playing pipes under a
tree, and Third showing a cow being led by a priest to be sacrificed.
The world of the urn is entirely pastoral. So, the urn is deathless but it is also
lifeless. It has no warmth of human life.
Structure and Meter: In "Ode on a Grecian Urn," the meter is found to
be iambic pentameter. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" consists of five stanzas

2
3

that present scenes. Each stanza has ten lines written in iambic
pentameter, a pattern of rhythm (meter) that assigns ten syllables to each
line. The first syllable is unaccented, the second accented, the third
unaccented, the fourth accented, and so on. “Ode on a Grecian Urn" is
organized into ten-line stanzas, beginning with an ABAB rhyme scheme
and ending with a Miltonic sestet (1st and 5th stanzas CDEDCE, 2nd
stanza CDECED, and 3rd and 4th stanzas CDECDE).

Form: The form of "Ode on a Grecian Urn," the form is obviously an

ode. The Oxford English Dictionary describes an ode as "a poem intended to
be sung or one written in a form originally used for sung performance." This
is clearly evident, because the poem could easily be set to music, and when
being recited, it has a "sing-song" feel to it.

Tone of the Poem: The tone of a literary work refers to the writer's
attitude towards the content. The poem contains a lot of different tones.
Speaker starts off with loving & romantic tone. The speaker takes on a tone
of jealously as he describes the scene with the musician. While describing
the scene with the sacrifice, the tone is pretty mellow.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
Literary devices are techniques that the writers use to convey their ideas,
feelings, and message to the readers. The analysis of some of the literary
devices used in this poem has been listed below.
(Any FIVE)

1. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the

same line of poetry such as the sound of /l/ in “Will silent be; and not a
soul to tell” and /n/ sound in “All breathing human passion far above.”
2. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities,
giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. Keats
has used a lot of symbols in this poem such as, “plants and trees” are
the symbols of youth and spring, “urn” itself is the symbol of time and
life.
3. Personification: Personification is to give human attributes to animate
or inanimate objects. He has used personifications at several places in
the poem. He addresses the urn as “bride of quietness” and “Sylvan

3
4

historian”; “you soft pipe, play on” as if pipe and urn are humans that
can perform certain acts.
4. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same
lines of poetry such as the sound of /o/ in “More happy love! more
happy, happy love!” and /i/ sound in “Attic shape! Fair attitude! With
brede.”
5. Metonymy: It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of things with
something it is closely associated. Here, Keats links the man’s heart to
his feelings of being “high sorrowful and cloyed”.
6. Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is meant to represent
the whole. He has used this device to express the downside of natural
love as he has used the words, “burning love” that is fever and
“parching tongues” is thirst.
7. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of any word or expression in the
initial part of the sentence such as ‘forever’ in the first two lines and
‘happy’ in the last two lines.

“Forever painting and forever young

Forever piping song forever new
A happy, happy boughs
More happy love, more happy happy love.”

8. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds

in the same line of poetry such as the sound of /n/ in “Ye know on earth,
and all ye need to know. And /t/ sound in “”Beauty is truth, truth
beauty,—that is all.”
9. Paradox: A paradox is a statement that may seem contradictory but
can be true, or at least makes sense. He has used paradox in the
second stanza, “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard”, “Pipe to
the spirit ditties of no tone”, implying melodies are heard by the spirits
and not by the ears.
10. Apostrophe: An apostrophe is a device used to call somebody
from afar. The poet addresses the “urn,” the pictures painted on the urn
and the lovers engraved on the urn.

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry.
Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

4
5

1. Ode: An ode is a traditional poem that was originally meant to be sung.

The ancient Greeks used to sing their odes.
2. Stanza: Stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are five stanzas in
this poem; each of them consists of ten lines.
3. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Keats
has used end rhyme in this poem such as in the first and second lines of
the first stanza the rhyming words are, “time”, “rhyme”, “both”, “loath.”
4. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABABCDCDECDE, then a variation
of CDE DCE rhyme scheme throughout the poem with
iambic pentameter.
5. Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter consisting of five iambs. The
poem comprises iambic pentameter such as,
“thou still unravished bride of quiet”

Themes in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

Beauty of art, destructive nature of time and transience of life are

some of the prominent themes of this ode.

Although the urn has passed down through ages, it is unchanged, perfect
and silent. Keats also presents the enchanting, perfect and immortal world
of the urn, as he discusses the destructive nature of the real world and its
desires, which cannot be quenched. The famous philosophical doctrine
“truth is beauty, beauty truth” conveys an important message that real
beauty of the things are in its permanence. He also says that truth is the
ultimate beauty of the world, and never perishes.

Central Idea of the Poem:

The central thought of this ode is the unity of truth and beauty.
According to Keats, beauty and truth are not separate things but two
sides of one and the same thing. What is beautiful must be true, and
what is true must be beautiful. The knowledge of this great fact is of
supreme importance and this fact represents the very essence of

5
6

wisdom. Having this knowledge, mankind needs no other knowledge.

Keats has summed up his philosophy of life and theory of art in these
lines. But they have aroused much controversy among the critics.

► T. S. Eliot even called this statement “a serious blemish on this

beautiful poem”.

Analysis of the Poem

The ode begins with an apostrophe to the urn, Keats addresses the urn in
its special relationship to silence and time. He uses three metaphors to
personify the urn: ―the unravished bride of quietness‖, ―the foster-
child of silence and slow time‖ and ―sylvan historian‖.
“Thus, the unfulfilled love has its own charm.”
In the rest of the stanza, he meditates upon the pictures painted on the urn
and raises some questions to remove the ambiguity. It introduces some
paradoxes and does not tell us the names and dates that we usually
associate with history.
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
In the second stanza, the poet ceases his search after the identity of the
painted images. To him,
“Heard melodies are sweet,

But those unheard are sweeter,…”

Because such music is lasting and permanent. As one of the critic says:
“The memory of the beautiful thing is more beautiful than
the thing itself.”
Thus Keats shows supremacy of art over life. Art has given permanence
and immortality to the musician and the lover painted on the urn.

6
7

“Keats had given superiority to art over life.”

Art is permanent, while human life and its sensuous beauty are transitory.
Compton Rickett says:
“Human life and happiness may be brief; yet art has given them a
lasting durability, and so links the ages together.”
In the third stanza, Keats emphasizes the unchanging happiness of the
figures by the repetition of words and phrases. Even though their passion is
unsatisfied, their state is far better than that of the mortals for whom
satisfaction turns pleasure into satiety. The last two lines give us a glimpse
of Keats‘s personal life.
“She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
Forever wilt thou love, and she be fair!”
Here Keats refers to Fanny Brawne with whom his love remained
unachieved.
In the fourth stanza, Keats describes the picture of a sacrificial
processionled by a “mysterious priest”. He imagines that the people who
have come to see the sacrifice can never return to their homes. He realizes
that just as a moment of happiness is fixed for ever in art, so is the moment
of desolation.
In the fifth stanza, the Keats addresses the urn in a different way. He calls
it “Attic shape”, “Silent form” and “Cold pastoral”. In this way, the urn
is personified. It will remain unchanged for the future generations and will
continue to teach that beauty and truth are inseparable. It also teaches
mankind the permanence and beauty of art.
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty‘, - that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

These lines have aroused much controversy among the critics. Mostly the
critics are of the view that Keats wants to show the supremacy of art over
life as to him beauty preserved in art haspermanent appeal to our senses
while the beauty in actual life is transitory. It can be safely said that quest
for beauty was Keats' final and ultimate aim.

7
8

Compton Rickett says:

"Keats had no religion save the religion of beauty"

► The features of Keatsian Romanticism and Keats’ philosophy of art,

beauty and truth are also important in this poem. Though it is a romantic
poem, we find the classical interests of Keats in the style and form of this
poem. This is a romantic poem mainly because of its dominant imaginative
quality.

Conclusion:
To sum up, we may say that in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, Keats emphatically
points out the difference between art and life. Life, though real, is subject to
decay and death; art, though unreal, has permanence of beauty. However,
there is hidden pathos that runs throughout the poem and it remains a sad
poem. The urn is a “cold pastoral”. It has no warmth of human life. Nor
can it make any progress, because progress implies change. But the urn is
beyond any change. Therefore no doubt;

“The urn is deathless, but it is also lifeless.”