Suppressing senses in John Keats’s Ode to a Nightingale and Ode on a Grecian Urn
Abstract: John Keats, as a pursuer of beauty, is well-known for his beautiful sensory language in his odes, but many of the odes intentionally limit the senses they inhabit. With particular references to Ode to a Nightingale and Ode on a Grecian Urn, this paper focuses on the reasons for suppressing senses and the methods of creating an abundance of believable sensation with limited senses.
Key words: Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, sensation
1 Introduction
John Keats, one of the main figures of Romantic poets, made contribution to English poetry with some of the most beautiful sensory language, notably in the series of odes. To Autumn is considered …show more content…
Time is frozen in its pictures, and he wonders about the figures on the urn. He saw men pursue women and instruments, thinking what their story could be.
He then urges the musicians to play on as the immortal unheard melodies are even lovelier. The young lover on the urn can never kiss his love, but the speaker asks him not to grieve as they are frozen in time, his love would last and her beauty would not fade.
In the third stanza, he feels happy for the trees on the urn that they will never shed their leaves; happy for the melodist because he will forever play songs forever new; and happy for the lovers that their love will last forever, unlike mortal love which only brings frustration.
He sees a sacrifice on the urn and asks about the people coming to it in the following stanza. However the town of these people remains silent and no one can tell him their …show more content…
In the former ode sight is limited in order to focus on the sound of the nightingale and the image the speaker imagines seeing. The latter, on the other hand, only focuses on sight because of the quality of the object. The urn cannot make sounds or move or provide some kind of smell, so the speaker can only describe it from the visual perspective. These odes create an abundance of believable sensation with detailed descriptions, lively language and references to mythology, giving readers wider space for
Abstract: John Keats, as a pursuer of beauty, is well-known for his beautiful sensory language in his odes, but many of the odes intentionally limit the senses they inhabit. With particular references to Ode to a Nightingale and Ode on a Grecian Urn, this paper focuses on the reasons for suppressing senses and the methods of creating an abundance of believable sensation with limited senses.
Key words: Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, sensation
1 Introduction
John Keats, one of the main figures of Romantic poets, made contribution to English poetry with some of the most beautiful sensory language, notably in the series of odes. To Autumn is considered …show more content…
Time is frozen in its pictures, and he wonders about the figures on the urn. He saw men pursue women and instruments, thinking what their story could be.
He then urges the musicians to play on as the immortal unheard melodies are even lovelier. The young lover on the urn can never kiss his love, but the speaker asks him not to grieve as they are frozen in time, his love would last and her beauty would not fade.
In the third stanza, he feels happy for the trees on the urn that they will never shed their leaves; happy for the melodist because he will forever play songs forever new; and happy for the lovers that their love will last forever, unlike mortal love which only brings frustration.
He sees a sacrifice on the urn and asks about the people coming to it in the following stanza. However the town of these people remains silent and no one can tell him their …show more content…
In the former ode sight is limited in order to focus on the sound of the nightingale and the image the speaker imagines seeing. The latter, on the other hand, only focuses on sight because of the quality of the object. The urn cannot make sounds or move or provide some kind of smell, so the speaker can only describe it from the visual perspective. These odes create an abundance of believable sensation with detailed descriptions, lively language and references to mythology, giving readers wider space for