Ode on a Grecian Urn by John

¶ … Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats. Specifically it will discuss the points John Keats makes regarding the power of art to stir the imagination, to survive across time and space, and to give meaning to a world in flux. Keats poem celebrates the urn as an artifact of history and how that artifact is like a snapshot in time, illustrating the lives and the people of long-ago.

This entire poem is about an ancient Grecian urn that stirs Keats' imagination as he views it. He shows the urn as an historical artifact that has survived for thousands of years, and alludes to its endurance at the end of the poem when he writes, "When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe."

Clearly, he wants to show that the urn has survived for thousands of years, and will continue to tell its story long after generation of people disappear.

This beautiful piece of artwork stirs his imagination to create fanciful stories about the people the artist depicted on the urn, and turn them into symbols of their country and their lives long ago. The poet writes, "Who are these coming to the sacrifice? / To what green altar, O mysterious priest."

He clearly illustrates how this artwork has made him ask questions about the people and the places it represents, and how it has stirred his mind and his imagination to learn more about the people and the culture it represents. Many critics realize this symbolism of the people and places is quite important in the work. One critic writes, "He [the reader] must not be too much surprised if 'mere decoration' turns out to be meaningful symbolism -- or if ironies develop where he has been taught to expect only sensuous pictures."