EngLit

Major Octavian Ciprian · Dunker Data inscrierii: 25/Oct/2015 Mesaje: 16

"Ode on a grecian urn" - immortality in art or life mortality?

I believe that John Keats' urn has the magical power of catching the essence of life. Whether you are happy, joyful, ecstatic, or on the contrary: sad, sorrowful and aloof, the urn can catch that into its engravings; you will be forever young (reference to Alphaville song), forever beautiful, engraved permanently into an urn, because its engravings will never fade, contrary to a painting for example, whose colours and beauty fade in time.. The urn will contain your soul as it was while you were alive, but at the same time it can contain your remains from when you are no longer. So yes, I can sustain that, from my point of view, it is way better to have immortality in art than life mortality, in which you die and the next second there's no proof that you ever existed and your memory is soon forgotten.

caiadiana · Dunker Data inscrierii: 04/Noi/2015 Mesaje: 12

Roxana Ciobanu

I think that Keats , in this Ode makes a contrast between human life and the life of the Urn. Keats finds the Urn much superior to human life. As a work of beauty the Urn represents a permanent life. Keats emphasizes the fact love, beauty and youth are all immortalized in the work of art. The beloved in the Grecian Urn is immortal, she will not lose her beauty.I sustein that with this verse from the opera : ,, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"

CCD · Dunker Data inscrierii: 26/Oct/2015 Mesaje: 21

In “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, Kohn Keats makes a comparison between the immortality of art and the mortality of man (“of deities or mortals”, “men or gods”, “for ever panting and for ever young”, “old age”/”though shall remain”).
On one hand, the Grecian Urn possess the key to happiness and eternity as the “unheard” melodies that are engraved there “Are sweeter” then the “heard” ones, the trees are forever green (“…nor ever can those trees be bare”), and the girl will always be beautiful and faithful to the boy.
On the other hand, the man is superior to the urn as it is only a lifeless object that cannot live life to the fullest. Therefore, the “Bold Lover” will never kiss the girl, the Summer will never come (“nor ever bid the Spring adieu”) and the people will never return to their homes, leaving the town a desolate place.
On the basis of the things mentioned above, one can obtain eternal exhilaration and pleasure through art, but there is a price to be pay for. As far as I am concerned, I think that the purpose of our existence is to always learn from our mistakes and other achievements and grow. It is true that being eternally confined in a print can protect you from being forgotten, but the question in that case is what is the reason to be remembered for?

Ciocotişan Diana

Butean Dana · Trimis: 25/01/2017 14:36 Titlul subiectului:

Ilies Adriana Iulia

I think that John Keats, made in this poem a comparison between peolpe's life and the life of an urn. From this comparison results the fact that the urn is superios to the people. Keats support the idea that beauty is suprem, an urn can remain beauty forever, but the people can't. Some themes of these poem:Inocence the urn represents an innocent world, unaffected by the suffering and hardship that come with change. Art and Culture few people have defended the value of art quite like John Keats. He goes so far as to suggest that the most powerful truths are to be found only in art.
The urn is presented at the begining at the poem like a married bride(but still a virgin), finally, he treats it like a sage with wisdom to impart.

Butean Dana · Trimis: 25/01/2017 14:48 Titlul subiectului:

John Keats in the poem "Ode on the Grecian Urn" debate a connection between art and life, but for he the art is more than life. The art for keats is a form of urn and urn captures the life and keeps it there for long.
Keats in this poem include ideas of immortality in the afterlife. The urn is ancient. Over time, Keats' poetry will last a long time; perhaps forever because is a conception different between art and life.
The two concepts "immortality in art or life mortality" They are related because in this poem stands out as art is a very important symbol for the author, and life is also important, but not as art. The art does not never die,but life dies with time.

Teacher · Administrator Data inscrierii: 26/Mar/2008 Mesaje: 471

@ Ciprian Major
Well, this is what I call an interpretation. You diverge somewhat from the canonic approaches to the poem, but that’s nice. So, you regard the Urn in contrast to oil-on-canvas painting as having the advantage of being perennial. The urn as a container of both should and body (ashes) — interesting!

@ Roxana Ciobanu
I should’t be reading this, as you have been banned for the other piost. But still...
You say ”the Urn represents a permanent life” — but your unsubstantiated sentence makes little sense, for the urn is an inanimate object. ”Sustein” is not an English word, and ”opera” refers strictly only to the musical genre...

@CCD Diana
Good, well substantiated analysis. Excellent logic throughout!
I liked your clear and strong developments of some of the ideas we discussed in class:
”man is superior to the urn as it is only a lifeless object that cannot live life to the fullest. ”
”one can obtain eternal exhilaration and plăcere through art, but there is a price to be pay for.”
And your final sentence summarizes brilliantly the essence of Keats’ paradox:
”It is true that being eternally confined in a print can protect you from being forgotten, but the question in that case is what is the reason to be remembered for?”

@ Ilieș Adriana
You mixed your own ideas with at leas one fragment that is an uncredited quote.