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| An image from the "Elgin Marbles" |
[Note: both
poems are about looking at art in a museum. The “Grecian Urn” is an old Greek
vase with images going around it, as he describes in the poem; the Elgin Marbles
are a series of sculptures taken from the Parthenon in Greece (stolen,
actually) and displayed in the British museum. The poem is a reflection of
contemplating this ancient wonder.]
Answer TWO of
the following…
Q1: Why is the
poet’s spirit “weak” when he contemplates the Elgin marbles? How does this
relate to his metaphor that he “must die/Like a sick Eagle looking at the sky”?
Why would art affect him in this way?
Q2: In the first
stanza of “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” he personifies the urn, calling it a “bride,”
a “foster-child,” and a “historian”. How do these metaphors add up and describe
his relationship to the work of art? Also note that he addresses it as “thou”
rather than “you” (the intimate form of address). What is the urn to him?
Q3: One of the most
famous lines of the poem is “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/Are
sweeter.” How do you understand these lines? What do they express about the
nature of art itself, and why Keats struggles to understand his
relationship/feelings to the urn?
Q4: The famous
final lines of the poem are a quote: ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’—that is
all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” Who is speaking in the quoted
section? And who is the “ye” the poet is addressing? Why might the answers to
these questions change how we read the entire poem?
Elyse Marquardt
ReplyDeleteQ1: If the image above is typical of what the rest of the "Elgin Marbles" look like, it is understandable why Keats feels upset when he looks at them. This sculpture depicts violence between two giants of mythological strength. The fact that at least one of these figures is obviously not wholly human gives this sculpture a definite air of the sublime; we see two mighty creatures eternally locked in combat, creatures from the age when the idea of many gods ruling mankind was commonly accepted. We feel small and dreadfully inferior when faced with this depiction of supernatural might and wrath. Keats compares himself to a sick eagle dying and looking up at the sky. This conveys his feelings of dashed self-importance, like an eagle that had considered itself king of the heavens until it actually looked up and saw the vast expanse above its head. It is too much for the eagle (and apparently for Keats as well), and the shock throws them both into a state of brokenhearted defeat in the face of true glory.
Q3: Stanza II of "Ode to a Grecian Urn" is spent addressing the frozen figures on the sides of the urn. By telling the soft pipes to play on "Not to the sensual ear, but more endear'd/ Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone" (lines 13-14), Keats is saying that the melodies we cannot hear are better suited to our souls, so that each person can interpret the music of the painted figures in his own way, untainted by the opinions of others. Keats almost seems to think that to hear the music with physical ears would somehow sully the beauty of the tune. This implies that art itself is a deeply personal experience for each individual to understand in his own heart. Keats sees the urn as a symbol of art; it is definitely speaking to the viewer, yet the fact that it cannot outright express its purpose means that it is leaving the job of interpreting its point up to the audience. The urn is presenting a challenge with its myriad figures frozen in the act of making music, loving another, changing seasons, etc. Keats understands this, and he is struggling to accept the fact that it is his job to do the work and figure out the meaning.
Elyse Marquardt
Excellent responses: the eagle, like Keats, can no longer fly as he once could, and he is dwarfed--mocked?--by the grandeur of the sky above him. A sky that is immortal, that will always exist and cover the heads of many a bird once he is long since past.
Delete1.) Merely years before Keats wrote the poem "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles," Thomas Bruce (Lord Elgin) had removed part - about half - of them from their resting place in the Parthenon and sold them to the British Museum within the short time-frame was well. Thus, when Keats saw the Elgin Marbles, he was looking at a broken piece of a whole that used to belong in Athens. Thus, his being feels weakened by the experiences as he sees it as a sort of metaphor to his (our) own mortality. He calls the marbles "godlike," which is fitting considering they came from Greece where mythology would more than likely been an influence on the creation of the Marbles. Seeing the Marbles and their godlike structure being torn apart is like being an ill eagle who is looking towards the sky: It is a yearning for something we can never have again - fitting all of the pieces back into the whole it once was. Just as the eagle wishes it could be whole again and fly in its natural habitat, Keats seems to understand the yearning of the sculpture to be whole again within its natural habitat - amongst all the godlike structures - in the Parthenon.
ReplyDelete2.) Keats probably had several reasons for choosing the words he did to describe the urn and its relation to the rest of the world. "Bride" could mean he sees it as a bride to the individual who rests within its confinement, or as a bride to the rest of the world since he sees it as a "Sylvan historian," or a "wooden" historian. "Historian" here seems all-too fitting, since Keats does not know which tree the urn was created from, what the tree saw within its lifetime, how many faces it sees on a regular basis, etc. to the point that it has a large amount of history to tell even though, to anyone else, it would seem like "just an urn." "Foster child" is one of the more interesting comparisons he makes. Keats uses this term to mean that its life is not within one home - it has been in the forest, one museum or another, and possibly in a home. It has been passed around. The urn, to Keats, is the embodiment of both mortality and immortality. The message of the urn shows that humans are mortal, but the message of their death can remain immortal. It also shows that, regardless of what times throws at it, the urn continuously tells its story without fault, making its message immortal.
Excellent responses here-the urn has indeed had many homes, not only the various temples and museums of the past, but also the worlds in our imagination. Everyone who views it places it in their 'home' and so adopts it. It celebrates eternal love, though the love is not really love--it is more a celebration of youth itself, without acknowledging the falling off that follows and is the natural condition of humanity. This is why Keats seems to become critical of it in the end.
DeleteQ1: He may see himself as weak in comparison to the difficult labor and artistic skill that went into crafting the Elgin Marbles when he refers to "godlike hardship". It could also be a response to the controversy that surrounded their acquisition. The painstaking labor that went into the art was somewhat broken when removed to Britain. The general damage the art sustained over the years from war, etc.--"That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude/Wasting of old Time"--has the speaker looking to his own mortality. If the grand sculptures that decorated the Acropolis and the Parthenon have decayed, it is no wonder that "mortality/Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep".
ReplyDeleteQ2: A work of art to the artist is a loved object (bride), a nurtured object (foster-child), and a product of its time (historian). The speaker is attempting to understand the motivations of the artist: "What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?" He contemplates the significance of the urn, but ultimately decides it is up to individual interpretation, and that "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,'".
Yes, he can see the dual image of immortal youth and wasting time in the Marbles, which reminds him that art can defy age and death itself. Yet he cannot, and he can only look at it in awe and respect--and hope, perhaps vainly, that his own poetry can similarly cheat death. And he was right!
DeleteQ1: After searching for a picture of Elgin Marbles, I noticed most of them are beginning to crumble. Keats feels that art outlasts death, but his assumption is broken upon seeing the marbles. If something so eternal can "die," his life, which is less important, is only further weakened. The metaphor of "a sick Eagle looking at the sky" (line 5) illustrates a proud creature who once ruled the sky becoming too weak to rule his own domain. Instead, it is confined to the ground and is stripped of its former glory.
ReplyDeleteQ4: The urn breaks its silence to "speak" in the final two lines of the poem, addressing us. In the lines just above, "when old age shall this generation waste,/ Though shalt remain, in the midst of other woe" (lines 46-47) Keats makes the point that although his generation will pass on into death, the urn's lesson will stay true. To Keats, truth is too complicated to be found through any word of man. It can, however, be expressed through the beauty of art. Beauty is found in the silent expression of the urn and outlasts the lives of men. Upon realizing who the urn is "addressing," it becomes clear that the poem is asking us to be silent and look for the beauty of truth in the sublime. It's a very romantic idea.
Yes, truth is complicated--too complicated, perhaps, for an urn or a poem. He wants us to contemplate the urn so we can see 'through' it in, a sense, and see ourselves. If all we see is the surface beauty and take that for truth, we see the urn as an urn, nothing more. Yet the urn, like all art, is a mirror, and we mold it into our own image. So he seems to reject the urn's message for his own.
DeleteQ1: To him, the Elgin marbles are a wonder that he is to insignificant to properly enjoy. A sick eagle will look to the sky longingly, wishing to fly and be in the sky once more. His spirit is too sickly and week to ascend to the glory of the Elgin marbles. He views himself as unworthy of their presence.
ReplyDeleteQ2: Calling the urn a “bride” suggests a romantic attraction born of passion and desire. The relationship one shares with a foster-child is of deep affection, made more special by the fact that the child is not your own and yet you have chosen them all the same. Being called a scholar implies that this urn is a record of the past. By adding it up the urn becomes a remnant of the past that can provide great knowledge, and though it was not originally the poet’s he made it his own all the same and feels very strongly about it. Calling it “thou” just goes to prove how much he cares for it. The urn is pretty much his significant other.
Yes, great responses here--this is almost a love poem to the urn, yet a poem celebrating an unequal love. Keats can never accept the urn's terms, since it cannot love like a human; it only understands one part of the equation, and has never understood the moment after happiness/consummation.
DeleteQ1. When facing against gods, humans seem weak and powerless. So while looking at this immortal beings, he feels like a weakling who will die. Unlike the gods who will not. Much like the eagle longing to fly again. When you know death is near you or one day will find you, you start to look at things like this is the last time you will ever get to do this OR in the eagle’s case- will never do again. I think that this art makes him feel this way
ReplyDeleteQ2. The Urn has been under many roofs since its birth. Much like a foster child. It has traveled from homes to different museums. As for the bride. I believe he sees the Urn “marrys” everyone who looks at it because their ideas will most likely be different from everyone else. That idea will stay with them like a married wife. Using thou I think goes along with it because he feels married to his own ideas of the urn. To him it’s a story of these immortal mortals who have died yet live on because of this urn.
Great responses--I like your explication of the "foster child," since that's exactly the sense of that term as I see it. Also, it is a bride because it is at the moment of being wed, yet before it stops being a 'virgin.' It will always remain pure and untouched, a vision of immortal youth which can inspire us...or drive us mad!
DeleteAshley Bean
ReplyDelete3. I take it as how the story affects the person looking at it. These stories go straight to our soul, where no music or words are needed, and the story that reaches the soul is much sweeter. The pictures allow for interpretation, allow the viewer to reflect on the stories and take them as their own. Art is meant to be reflected on, and I think Keats was trying to get all the answers from the urn itself, when many of the answers were inside him.
4. This line really connects to the line from question 3, and I think the two unlock the poem (at least how I interpreted it). These final lines are spoken by the urn to the speaker of the poem. It opened my eyes to the constant questioning that the speaker did throughout the entire poem, and finally the urn speaks to him, telling him that answers aren't necessary, and perhaps it can't answer his questions anyways. The urn is beauty and art, and that's all that's needed.
Great responses: yes, the urn is beautiful, and that in a sense is all we need to know...but I wonder if Keats is questioning, too, whether beauty is all that art has to offer--or if that's a worthwhile ideal. Or maybe simply the idea that beauty is only to be found in the illusion of youth, which is the "truth" the urn seems to promise.
DeleteQ2: The urn is a bride of quietness as it is connected to the quietness of the museum and has probably always been associated with hushed voices. It's a foster child of silence and slow time because it won't permanently be here and it hasn't always been here but for the moment, a slow and long moment, this is where it belongs. It is a historian because it knows of the history and existed during a significant time era. If urns could talk! Keats refers to the urn as thou, the romantic term, because he feels the fragility in the urn. Kind of the way men refer to their cars as "she."
ReplyDeleteQ4: I don't know that it isn't from a plate in front of the statues but it seems as if it's coming from the urn. It feels like the urn's response to the Several questions Keats is asking in the beginning of the poem. It says that it's all "ye" need to know...on earth. Is there more outside of our planet? Is this a spiritual conviction? I'm not quite sure I'm reading it right, but it seems like the urn is suggesting that beauty and truth are the only priorities man should have.
Great responses--and in this case, he does make the urn talk; but art, when it speaks, uses 'our' voice, and reflects how we see the world. Keats is obsessed with the idea of immortality as an artist who wants his work to live forever, even as he is doomed to die quite young. But the promise of art worries him: do only what is young and beautiful last? There has to be more to life--and to art.
ReplyDelete