Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDFs, and guides for the poem Ode on a Grecian Urn MBOSE Class 11 Alternative English textbook Imprints, written by John Keats, which is part of the syllabus for students studying under the board. These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
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Summary
“Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats explores themes of beauty, immortality, and the contrast between real life and ideal art. The poem describes an ancient Greek urn adorned with detailed images of life. Keats refers to it as an “unravished bride of quietness,” suggesting it remains untouched and timeless, unlike life which is fleeting. He calls it a “foster-child of silence and slow time,” emphasizing its endurance beyond human life. The urn becomes a “Sylvan historian,” telling stories of nature and mythology better than words can.
The poet is enchanted by the scenes on the urn. A lover is frozen in time, forever near his beloved but unable to kiss her. This unfulfilled love is described as eternal and therefore unchanging in its beauty. Keats contrasts this with the impermanence of real passion, which eventually fades. Similarly, the trees on the urn are “happy” because they will never lose their leaves, symbolizing an ideal world untouched by change or decay.
In another scene, villagers are depicted on their way to a sacrifice. Their town is forever empty because they remain fixed in this act of devotion. This stillness brings a sense of mystery and desolation, contrasting with the vibrant life suggested earlier. The urn, through its silence, evokes deep reflection, “teasing us out of thought” as eternity does.
The poem ends with the famous lines: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” This suggests that art captures a universal truth through beauty, even if it cannot replicate life’s warmth and dynamism. Keats wrestles with the paradox of art being eternal yet detached from the living world. The urn, though cold and lifeless, offers timeless insight, making it a “friend to man” through generations.
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Line-by-line summary
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness, / Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
The poet describes the urn as a bride who remains untouched and forever calm. It is also seen as a child of silence and time, suggesting it has been preserved for generations.
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express / A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
The urn is called a historian of nature because it tells stories of the past through the images carved on it. These stories are more beautiful than any poem could express.
What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape / Of deities or mortals, or of both,
The poet wonders about the stories on the urn—whether they feature gods, humans, or a mix of both—and what events are shown among the carved leaves.
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
Keats imagines these scenes taking place in Tempe, a beautiful valley, or Arcadia, a peaceful countryside, both from Greek mythology.
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? / What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
He asks who the figures on the urn are—whether men, gods, or maidens—and observes scenes of people chasing and fleeing in excitement.
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
The poet imagines the music of pipes and tambourines, suggesting a lively and joyous celebration.
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard / Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Keats suggests that the imagined music on the urn is even sweeter than music we hear because it exists in the mind and can never fade.
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d, / Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
This music is not for the ears but for the spirit. It is imagined and timeless, appealing to the soul.
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave / Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
The young man on the urn will forever sing beneath trees that will never lose their leaves, preserving the joy of spring.
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss, / Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
The lover depicted on the urn will never kiss his beloved, but this moment of eternal longing is beautiful because it never fades.
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, / For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
Although the lover cannot fulfil his desires, his love and the maiden’s beauty will remain timeless and perfect.
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed / Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
The branches on the urn are always full of leaves, never experiencing autumn. They are forever in spring, the season of growth and beauty.
And, happy melodist, unwearied, / For ever piping songs for ever new;
The musician carved on the urn will always play his flute, and his music will always feel fresh and joyful.
More happy love! more happy, happy love! / For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,
The love depicted on the urn is eternally full of passion and joy, untouched by time or sorrow.
For ever panting, and for ever young; / All breathing human passion far above,
This love is timeless and free from the pain or sadness that real-life love often brings.
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d, / A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
While human love can lead to exhaustion and disappointment, the love on the urn stays perfect forever.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice? / To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Keats notices another scene on the urn: people going to a sacrifice, led by a priest.
Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, / And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
The priest is guiding a young cow, decorated with flowers, to the altar for the ceremony.
What little town by river or sea shore, / Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
The poet imagines the town these people came from, perhaps near a river, sea, or in the mountains.
Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn? / And, little town, thy streets for evermore
The town is empty because everyone has gone to the sacrifice. On the urn, it will remain empty forever.
Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell / Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.
The streets will stay silent forever, frozen in the moment depicted on the urn.
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede / Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
The urn is praised for its beauty, adorned with figures of men and women carved in intricate detail.
With forest branches and the trodden weed; / Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
The detailed carvings make viewers pause and reflect deeply, transporting them into thought and imagination.
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
The urn is compared to eternity, as it will last forever. However, it is also “cold” because it lacks the warmth and movement of real life.
When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
The urn will outlive the poet and his generation, witnessing future joys and sorrows.
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, / “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all
The urn offers a timeless message: beauty and truth are deeply connected, and understanding this is enough for humanity.
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Keats concludes that this simple yet profound truth is all people need to know during their lives.
Textbook solutions
Answer these questions briefly
Stanza 1
1. Do you think that the word ‘still’ expresses two meanings? (Think: ‘still’ to mean ‘yet’ and ‘still’ to mean ‘without movement’?)
Answer: Yes, the word ‘still’ expresses two meanings: ‘yet’ as in ‘still unravished’ and ‘without movement’ as in its physical stillness.
2. Study the expression ‘unravish’d bride’. What do you think the poet means?
Answer: The poet means that the urn is pure, untouched, and eternal, like a bride who remains unravished.
3. Why is the urn a ‘foster-child of silence and slow time’?
Answer: The urn is called a ‘foster-child of silence and slow time’ because it has been preserved over time and exists in eternal stillness and quietness.
4. Why is the sculptor of the urn called a ‘sylvan historian’? Whose history has he presented on the urn?
Answer: The sculptor is called a ‘sylvan historian’ because he narrates a story through the scenes depicted on the urn, which are connected to rural or woodland life.
5. Describe the figures depicted on the urn in your own words.
Answer: The figures on the urn include deities or mortals, maidens reluctant to engage, men pursuing them, musical instruments like pipes and timbrels, and a scene of wild ecstasy.
6. How does the poet bring out the immortality of the figures and the possible mortality of the urn itself? Which lines in the poem hint at these ideas?
Answer: The poet brings out the immortality of the figures by stating that they are frozen in eternal moments, as seen in lines like “Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave.” The urn’s mortality is hinted at when it is described as a ‘Cold Pastoral,’ subject to decay over time.
7. Do you see a paradox in the silence of the urn and the passion portrayed on its cold surface?
Answer: Yes, there is a paradox between the urn’s silence and the lively passion depicted on its cold surface, as it silently tells a story of intense action and emotions.
Stanza 2
1. Why are ‘unheard melodies’ sweeter to the poet than ‘heard melodies’? Is there a paradox here?
Answer: ‘Unheard melodies’ are sweeter because they exist in the imagination and are free from imperfections. Yes, there is a paradox as they are sweeter precisely because they cannot be heard.
2. What is the poet trying to communicate by pointing out that the youth sculpted on the urn, although close to his lover, cannot kiss her? Do you see a contrast between the real and the ideal in this stanza?
Answer: The poet communicates the eternal longing and beauty of ideal love that remains perfect but unfulfilled. Yes, there is a contrast between the fleeting nature of real love and the permanence of ideal love depicted on the urn.
3. Why will the maiden’s beauty never fade? What quality does the young man’s love have?
Answer: The maiden’s beauty will never fade because she is frozen in art. The young man’s love is eternal and unchanging.
Stanza 3
1. Why is the bough of the tree ‘happy’?
Answer: The bough is ‘happy’ because it will never lose its leaves or say goodbye to spring, remaining eternally fresh and vibrant.
2. Can the passion depicted on the urn be fulfilled? Why not?
Answer: No, the passion depicted on the urn cannot be fulfilled because it is frozen in time, eternally longing but never reaching fulfillment.
3. Why do you think the poet repeats the word ‘happy’? Is it ironic?
Answer: The poet repeats the word ‘happy’ to emphasize the timeless joy in the urn’s scenes. It is somewhat ironic, as this joy is static and unchanging, unlike the dynamic emotions of real life.
4. According to the poet, which is better—real life or the ideal life portrayed on the urn?
Answer: According to the poet, the ideal life portrayed on the urn is better in some ways, as it is free from the sorrows and imperfections of real life, but it lacks fulfillment.
Stanza 4
1. Is there a paradox in ‘green altar’ that will soon be the place of a sacrifice?
Answer: Yes, there is a paradox as the ‘green altar’ represents life and growth, yet it is the site of death and sacrifice.
2. Who is the priest leading to the altar? How is she decorated?
Answer: The priest is leading a heifer to the altar, and she is decorated with garlands on her silken flanks.
3. Why do you think the town is empty? Will we ever really know the reason? Why?
Answer: The town is empty because its people have gone to participate in the sacrifice. We will never know the exact reason, as it is frozen in time and open to interpretation.
4. How does the poet create a scene of desolation? Contrast the desolation in this stanza with the frenzied activity depicted in the previous stanzas.
Answer: The poet creates desolation through the image of a silent, empty town whose people will never return. This contrasts with the lively and vibrant activity depicted in the earlier stanzas.
Stanza 5
1. Explain ‘Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought/as doth eternity’ in context.
Answer: The urn, as a silent and timeless form, stimulates endless contemplation, just as the concept of eternity does.
2. Why will the urn always remain a ‘friend to man’?
Answer: The urn will remain a ‘friend to man’ because it preserves beauty and truth across generations, offering comfort and reflection.
3. Critics have endlessly debated the meaning of the last two lines. What do these lines suggest to you?
Answer: The last two lines suggest that beauty and truth are intertwined, forming the essence of what is significant and sufficient for humanity.
Answer these questions in detail
1. How is the poem a paradox bringing out many contradictions?
Answer: The poem is a paradox because it showcases the contrasts between silence and passion, permanence and change, life and art, and reality and idealism. The urn is described as silent, yet it portrays intense passion on its surface. The images on the urn remain unchanged, offering permanence, while life is transient. Art captures an ideal that is unchanging, unlike the reality that is constantly evolving. These contradictions make the urn a symbol of both timeless beauty and the cold detachment of art.
2. Which according to Keats is superior—life or art? Substantiate your answer with arguments drawn from the poem.
Answer: According to Keats, art is superior to life because it represents timeless beauty and truth, which life, with its fleeting and imperfect nature, cannot offer. In the poem, the urn immortalizes the beauty and passion of the figures depicted on it. Lines like “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” suggest that the ideal beauty captured by art is the ultimate reality, transcending the sorrows and limitations of life.
3. What do these images suggest to you—the trees that can’t shed their leaves, musicians whose music will remain forever new and fresh, and the lover that can’t consummate his love?
Answer: These images suggest the eternal nature of art and its ability to preserve moments of beauty and passion. The trees that cannot shed their leaves symbolize perpetual spring and renewal. The musicians whose music remains forever fresh represent the unchanging joy of artistic creation. The lover who cannot consummate his love embodies an idealized, eternal longing that remains unspoiled by time or fulfillment. Together, these images highlight the timeless and perfect nature of art, in contrast to the transient and imperfect realities of life.
4. Does the poem make a final statement on the relation between the real and the ideal, and between art and real life?
Answer: Yes, the poem makes a statement that the ideal, as represented by art, transcends the real, as it captures eternal truths and beauty. While real life is fleeting and filled with sorrow, art remains a permanent friend to humanity, offering solace and inspiration. The lines “When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain” emphasize the enduring nature of art as opposed to the mortality of human life. However, the poem also acknowledges the coldness and detachment of art, which lacks the warmth and immediacy of real life.
5. What does the poem tell us of Keats’s ideas on art?
Answer: The poem reflects Keats’s belief that art is a medium that captures eternal beauty and truth, offering an ideal that transcends the imperfections of life. Keats sees art as a source of solace and a timeless friend to humanity, preserving beauty and passion for future generations. At the same time, he acknowledges that art is detached from the vitality and sorrow of real life, as it is frozen in time and cannot fully replicate the experiences of living. This duality reveals Keats’s nuanced view of art as both a refuge and a contrast to the human experience.
Appreciating form and language
Ode
An ode is a form of lyric poetry that celebrates an event, person, being or power-or expresses a personal or intimate thought. It is usually dignified in tone and has an intricate rhyme structure. An ode often addresses someone or something using the literary device apostrophe (a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or an absent person is directly addressed as ‘thou’ or ‘you’). The ode has its origins in Greek dramatic poetry, where it was sung and accompanied by dance to celebrate a public occasion, such as a military victory.
Read the poem aloud. Do you notice the rhyme structure in the poem? Does it helps you to ‘experience’ the poem?
Answer: Do it yourself
The ode was a favourite form with Keats. Read his Ode to a Nightingale and To Autumn.
Answer: Do it yourself
Paradox
A paradox is a statement consisting of two parts, which seem contradictory. It is often used in literature to convey a thought or an idea in an interesting manner. ‘Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter’ suggests that the imaginary music coming from the pipes and timbrels on the urn is far more pleasing than the music that one can hear in real life, for the music from the urn is for the spirit.
Pick out one more paradox from this poem and explain it in context.
Answer: Another paradox from “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is found in the fifth stanza: “Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought / As doth eternity.”
The paradox here lies in the “silent form” of the Grecian urn, which is static and devoid of speech or sound, yet it evokes profound and endless contemplation, likened to the boundlessness of eternity. On the one hand, the urn is a tangible object, frozen in time and unable to change or communicate directly. On the other hand, its silence and permanence provoke deep reflection and imagination, inspiring thoughts about eternal truths and the fleeting nature of human existence.
Discussion
Keats was a leading poet of the Romantic Movement in England. The work of the Romantic poets is characterised by powerful emotion and expressive language. Find out who some other Romantic poets were and choose a poem written by one of them. Read the poem you have chosen aloud in class and discuss it.
Answer: Do it yourself
Extras
Additional questions and answers
1. Who is the poet of the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?
Answer: John Keats.
12. Why does the poet call the urn a “friend to man”?
Answer: The urn is a “friend to man” because it serves as a timeless reminder of beauty, truth, and the enduring power of art to console and inspire humanity across generations.
Additional fill in the blanks
1. The urn is described as a ‘foster-child of silence and ______.’ (Eternity/Slow Time)
Answer: Slow Time
10. The lovers on the urn are described as ‘forever warm and still to be ______.’ (Remembered/Enjoyed)
Answer: Enjoyed
Additional true and false
1. The urn is referred to as a ‘bride of silence and slow time.’
Answer: False
10. The poet claims that the lover depicted on the urn will eventually embrace his beloved.
Answer: False
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.
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