Discuss how Keats deals with the theme of
transience and permanence in Ode on a Grecian Urn.
The
Keatsean odes trace his quest for permanence, and state his philosophy
connecting and contrasting the indestructibility of art with the transience of
life. The song of the Nightingale and the visual beauty of the Urn both
represent supreme Beauty of art, and Keats explores the relation between
superior art and inferior mortal life on more than one level in his poems.
The
Grecian Urn is an inanimate object, but the storied depiction on it of a world
of love, beauty, joy and devotion is beyond death. It lies in a timeless world
of 'silence'. The Nightingale, on the other hand, is a physical being; but its
song too represents the highest art. Keats conceives a symbol of eternity in
both these forms of artistic beauty, the auditory and the visual, and relates
them to the ephemeral, temporal life of day to day.
Ode
on a Grecian Urn opens with an address to the urn, which is described as 'still
unravish'd bride of quietness' and 'foster-child of silence and slow time'. Its
purity and sanctity is preserved and ensured in a world where neither sound nor
tide of time exists, a world which is in sharp contrast to the ever-noisy and
ever-changing real world of flux ruled by clock and thought.
There
are two separate scenes depicted on and round the exquisite shape of the urn. The
first is a picture containing youths and maidens merry-making: a lover's 'mad
pursuit', a pair about to enjoy a kiss, a comprehensive picture of youthful
sport to the accompaniment of song and flute. The second is a scene of
sacrificial procession in all it ritual glamour and décor: the priest invested
with awe and mystery. The heifer, to be offered to the unknown god or goddess's
'green altar', dressed in silk and garlands, and the disciplined stepping of
the pious men crushing the grass and leaves on the forest floor..............................................
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.