Summary and Meaning of A Thing of

Beauty by Keats
August 30, 2017 by Website Contributors
About the Poet:
John Keats, one of the supreme English poets and a major figure in the Romantic
Movement, was born in 1795 in Moorfields, London.  His initial endeavors at
writing poetry date from about 1814, and include an imitation of the Elizabethan
poet Edmund Spenser.  He died at the age of twenty-five and had perhaps the
most significant career of any English poet. He published only fifty-four poems, in
three slim volumes and a few magazines. But at each point in his development,
he took on the tasks of an extensive range of poetic forms from the sonnet, to
the Spenserian romance, to the Miltonic epic. He defined afresh their possibilities
with his own distinctive fusion of earnest energy, control of conflicting
perspectives and forces, poetic self-consciousness, and, occasionally, dry ironic
wit. In the case of the English ode, he fetched its form, in the five great odes of
1819, to its most impeccable definition. 
In his lifetime John Keats would not have been related with other major Romantic
poets, and he himself was often apprehensive among them.  Keats had no proper
literary education, although he had a generous education in the boy’s Academy
at Enfield and trained at Guy’s Hospital to become a surgeon. Nevertheless,
Keats, today is seen as one of the smartest readers, explainers, and questioners of
the modern poetic project. Beyond his accurate sense of the difficulties presented
him in his own literary-historical moment, he developed with unparalleled
rapidity, in a relative handful of astonishing poems, a rich, powerful, and exactly
controlled poetic style that ranks Keats, with the William Shakespeare of the
sonnets, as one of the greatest lyric poets in English. 
About A Thing of Beauty:
Endymion is a classic poem in English. This poem by Keats is centered on the
Greek mythology of Endymion, the shepherd cherished by the moon goddess
Selene. We see an explanation of the original story and the Moon Goddess
Selene is named as “Cynthia”.
The poem “A Thing of Beauty “ by John Keats is a revolution against the
conventional reality. According to Keats, there is a difference between ordinary
entity and an object of beauty. Although the effects of an ordinary object are
momentary to our senses, they do not remain long in our minds and fade away
with the time passes.
But on the other hand, the effects of the things of beauty permanently charm to
our senses, they do not fade with time and stays in our senses. No time and
space can put an end to the effect of the beauty of objects.
Keats defines the sun, the moon, the old trees, the daffodils, the clear streams
and the forest which are rich with good-looking flowers-as the objects of beauty.
This objects always appeals to our minds and nothing neither time nor space can
make us unable to summon up them.
The whole lot in this world has beauty and good looks lie in the eye of the
beholder. We are the one who is not attentive and continuously running in our
life. Only if we become more alert and enduring then we will be able to see
beauty everywhere around us.
The Setting of A Thing of Beauty:
The setting of the poem starts by a portrait of a countryside scene of trees, rivers,
shepherds, and sheep. The poem tells about how nature and its wonder captivate
us and take away all the sorrow that surrounds us from time to time. This poem
by Keats is based on the Greek mythology of Endymion, the shepherd dearly
loved by the moon goddess Selene. The poem associates Endymion’s unique
romantic passion with a universal expedition for a self-destroying state of grace
in which he might attain a heavenly private concord with all creations.

Stanza-wise Summary of A Thing of Beauty:

Very simply put, yet graceful, Keats describes a thing of beauty as proceeding joy
forever. Its beauty only increases and it will never come to an end. The benefits
hold out by a thing of beauty is listed as giving sound repose with good dreams
and well-being.
The earth without the beautiful things is a hopeless, unpleasant place flourishing
in cold-hearted unresponsive scarcity and is severe toward human beings. Every
day human beings face miserable days packed with unhealthy malevolence and
darkness. However, in spite of all, a thing of beauty helps eradicate the dark cloud
that loads our souls. Hence, the poet says that we, the human beings create an
elaborate band each day, made of all the lovely things we see. This band keeps us
destined to the downcast earth as we would otherwise be hopeless.
The concluding section simply tells us some of the beautiful things on Earth. After
all, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Everyone can highpoint something
beautiful in anything. The examples cited by the poet are as such: the sun, the
moon, trees, flowers, streams, musk-rose blooms, architectural tombs, even fairy
tales or heroic legends. The ‘simple sheep’ are human beings. The poet expresses
sympathy with the innocence of human beings. Keats sees the beauty in guiltless
humans seeking comfort in nature, and Mother Nature in its own way develops a
shady abode of relief and consolation. The clause, Lily of the valley is quite well
known and incites images of a subtle unique white flower holding up its head
amongst a setting of thorns and tips and everything contrary to nature to
delicateness – so too are the daffodils mentioned in the poem.
The poet also perceives beauty in the death of martyrs and legends. ‘The mighty
dead are those idealists who have died bravely for a cause. We honor them by
establishing splendid, grand sepulchers in which beauty is seen. If one looks
around, there are numerous beautiful things to notice. They seem to flow
immortally as a fountain, from the gods above to help the pitiable human beings
to deal with with the harshness of life.
Annotations of A Thing of Beauty:

Also Read:  Critical Analysis and Meaning of The Last Ride Together

In the first stanza of the poem, the poet John Keats declares that a thing of
beauty continues to inspire us throughout our life. It never stops to exist in our
heart. With the passageway of time, the consequence of the thing becomes more
intense. The beautiful object is like a ray of hope in the middle of the world’s
despairs. It energizes our souls, restores us, and relaxes our worn nerves. It is like
a withdrawal from the evil in the world. Every day, such good-looking things in
natural surroundings bind us to the earth.
In spite of all the sadness, egotism, grief, misery, and all things we suffer in this
world, the beautiful thing, whether it be a passage, an object, or whatsoever
which a person finds beautiful, is like a ray of hope in the middle of all. Like the
sun, the moon outstanding through this dark curtain, trees, sheep, or flowers for
that matter also the green streams, waterfalls, fountains, musk rose buds, etc. All
accounts of bravery which motivate us give us the audacity to fight against all
chances. They are an unending foundation of motivation.
The poet considers a thing of beauty as a joy forever. It is a constant source of
happiness and pleasure. Its beauty never decreases. It gives us peace and a sleep
full of sweet dreams.
Keats stresses the indestructible connection of man with nature and the earth.
The loveliness of earth captivates a man. Every entity of earth is a foundation of
pleasure. Every day we are knitting a flowery wreath to fix us to the earth.
Man himself is the root source of his concerns. We lack human abilities and it
makes us merciless. Our life itself becomes a melancholy. We nurture unnatural
and sinful ways. All such things take a long depression and misery to mankind.
The beauty of natural objects takes away the despair from our sad hearts. The
sun, the moon old and young trees, arranges for a shady shelter and it is a boon
for unassuming conformist. Daffodil flowers are flourishing surrounded by the
green brushes. Small streams make a freshening accommodation for the forests.
Woods are growing in the middle of the forest. They have been prepared
beautiful and impressive by scattering of musk-rose. The mighty and deceased
were the people who were influential and governing in their own times. Their
accomplishment made them well-known and colossal. We visualize that on the
Dooms Day they will achieve more splendor and will be pleased.
The prettiness of the stories excels any other that we have read or heard. The
beauty of Mother Nature is like buds from blissful Fountain. It decants into our
hearts divine ecstasy of natural surroundings which is like unforgettable nectar.
The mighty deceased were those of unlimited authority, power, and
magnificence. They were prosperous, fearless and amazing people. They are dead
in their grave but still replicate that grandeur and glory. Man makes his life
unhappy by his own nature and actions. In the midst of these miseries and
suffering, a thing of beauty works miracles. It delivers hope for man and
eradicates distress and melancholy.

 “Endymion”, As a Representative of Joy: This poem is about

the power of beauty. The speaker believes when we fully understand
the concept of beauty, it can positively transform our lives. According to
him, if something is beautiful it gives limitless joy and revives our souls.
He adds that spending time with beautiful objects changes us. He
argues that beauty lifts us in the darker days of our life as it removes
unhealthy thoughts. It fills our minds with positive vibes. Also, it serves
as a guide during the hard times.
It makes us walk on a path full of beautiful sights and captivates our
minds with healthy imaginations. Moreover, he compares beauty with
 the elixir. When one drinks the beauty, it enters into his body and never
departs. After describing all these aspects of beauty, the speaker
announces that he is going to tell the story of Endymion as if he shares
a strong connection with the story. He compares his narration with an
exciting adventure

 Major Themes in “Endymion”: Beauty, adventure and life are the

major themes of this poem. Throughout the text, the speaker intends to
explain the truth of beauty. To him, beauty is eternal. It enlightens our
souls and serves as a beacon of hope during our hard times. He
believes if one truly understands the nature of beauty, it never leaves
him. With all his definitions and beliefs of beauty, he announces that he
is going to perform a grand task: narrate the tale of Endymion. He
connects this tale with his life and considers it part of himself. Moreover,
he knows he is going to express his ideas thoroughly.