1. Understanding “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
By:
Gabby and Charis

2. Ode on a Grecian Urn: Author: John Keats
Theme: An urn that tells us a story with the pictures upon it. Being forever happy and in motion through the picture that is never changing. Speaks of eternity.
Basic Synopsis: (1) Talks about the Urn with pictures on it containing humans and Gods and the pictures tell us a sweet story through our imagination. (2) The pictures are of happy scenes so they are living happily for eternity on the Urn. (3) After passion has various symptoms of troubled thoughts, need to seek guidance. The people of the town are gone and gives us a look on the difference between mortal life and eternal life. (4) Another picture of an empty village on the urn sacrificing a young female cow and the author thinks about that generation of people will die out and the urn will be left to tell stories to the future generations. The urn only knows of truth and beauty and that is the only thing that the urn needs to know.

3. Explain what the couple on the urn mean to the speaker:
He finds passion and unconditional love. Forever in love, forever a new song. He feels very happy looking at this side of the urn. Since they are on an urn, carved into it, the woman’s beauty will not fade and he should not grieve for this, for she will always be there

4. Why is the couple frozen?
The couple is frozen because the couple is a picture on the urn itself. The couple is technically stuck as a couple until the end of time in that one picture.

5. How does the speaker feel about melodies and visual art?
The speaker feels that a lot of sweet melodies are gone unheard, and that visual art tells a story. Music is unaffected by time. He appreciates both of these as he looks at the urn. It is a story because without the first picture, everything else means nothing. Without the last picture, the ending and destination are unknown.

6. Literary Devices
Alliteration: Is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words.
Ex: wide world, be bare bold
Assonance: Is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds
Ex: Hand - chance, glean - teem
Consonance: Is the repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels
Ex: Happy - boughs, never - power

7. Imagery
Sees: Pictures on the urn 1. Young female cow about to be sacrificed 2. Couple about the share a kiss 3. Beautiful trees with their leaves 4. A group of men and a group of women
Hears: 1. Soft pipes (music) 2. Silence
Smells: 1. Flowery and sweet smell of nature

8. Interpret and conclude:
The last two lines of the “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is saying that the urn only knows about truth and beauty and that that is all it needs to know.
John Keats suggests that beauty is only temporary because people and other living things die but beauty can be captured forever within a picture. Keats is jealous because the subjects in a picture get to live in a perfect moment forever.