Throughout his Ode on a Grecian Urn, Keats uses innocent, unfulfilled images painted on the urn, to demonstrate the theme of innocence and eternal beauty. In the first stanza the speaker standing before an ancient Grecian urn, addresses the urn, preoccupied with its depiction of pictures frozen in time. This is where Keats first introduces the theme of eternal innocence and beauty with the reference to the unvarnished bride of quietness(Keats). Because she has not yet engaged in sexual actions, the urn portrays the bride in this state, and she will remain like so forever.
Also in the first stanza he examines the picture of the mad pursuit, and wonders what the actual story is behind the picture. He looks at a picture that seems to depict a group of men pursuing a group of woman and wonders what they could be doing. What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and trimbels? What wild ecstasy(Keats). Of course, the urn can never tell him the whos, whats, and whens of the story it depicts. As the stanza, slowly leads the reader to the series of questions that are asked. The tone of the poem becomes exciting and breathless until it reaches the ultimatum, wild ecstasy(Keats).
The ecstasy brings together the pursuit and the music, the human and the superhuman, and, by conveying an impression of exquisite sense-spirit intensity, leads us to the fine edge between mortal and immortal. Where passion is so intense that it refines itself into the essence of ecstasy, which is without passion(Bate117). Ecstasy is therefore the end of the feelings the poem has lead to reader to feel. Since the urn does not depict anything past the chase itself, the situation is purely innocent with beauty again complying with the theme of eternal innocence and beauty.
In the second stanza, the speaker looks at another picture on the urn, this time of a young man playing a pipe, lying with his lover beneath a glade of trees. The speaker says that the pipers unheard melodys are sweeter then the mortal melodies. Because music is unaffected by time. He will always play the flute and never kiss the girl. she cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, for ever wilt thou love, and she be fair! (Keats) These lines simply mean that the youth, though he can never kiss his lover because he is frozen in time, he should not grieve, because her beauty will never fade.
The urn freezes her innocence in the picture. Therefore since the maiden and the man never actually have a sexual contact relationship, their love is pure, innocent, and eternal complying with the theme of eternal innocence and beauty. He perceives art as something that is better than real life. Keats goes on to discuss some trees whose branches, he remarks, can never be bare. They will always exist in the spring, always be green. Keats enjoys the fact that nature remains the same and this particular painting it must be spring.
The two lovers will always be in love and will always have passionate symptoms for each other. He gives very real, very human qualities to these two painted beings. In the third stanza, he looks at the trees surrounding the lovers, and feels happy that they will never shed their leaves. He is happy for the piper because his songs will be for ever new, and happy that the love of the boy and girl will last forever, unlike mortal love, which lapses into breathing human passion and eventually vanishes, leaving behind only a burning forehead, and a parching tongue(Keats).
It appears that the poet has not created the confusion, but that the unstable situation his vision created has bewildered him in the midst of his ecstasy and forced him into a direction that he did not intend or expect(Bate 132). His recollection of this mortal world seems to remind the speaker that he is inescapably subject to them, and he abandons his attempt to identify with these figures on the urn. Continuing to the fourth stanza, the theme of eternal innocence and beauty is profound with the subject of a peaceful, uncorrupted town.
The urn presents a priest leading a heifer dressed in garland up to an altar. The town symbolizes the potential of man. Then, as the story continues, a bit of irony becomes present. The people are portrayed to have taken over a spiritual nature of innocence and purity. They are spiritual in nature as depicted by the urn, but not even five minutes later, they plan to sacrifice the heifer. But, once again, by freezing in time the picture of innocence, the urn does not represent the corrupted image that is about to take place.
It has caught the people in a holy moment, and it has caught the town as a picture of beauty. Therefore, Keats once again, by freezing in time the picture of innocence, the urn does not represent the corrupted image that is about to take place. It has caught the people in a holy moment, and it has caught the town as an empty picture of an uncorrupted town and a group of holy people. In the last stanza, Keats has convinced the reader innocence and beauty is ever present in society. The last stanza leaves the reader with mixed emotions as a result of the mixed imagery.
He does so by stating his conclusions that he got from his three attempts to examine the urn. He realizes that the urn is a separate world that he can not relate with. He says it can be a Friend to man but it can not be mortal. The final two lines in which the speaker imagines the urn speaking its message to mankind have proved among the most difficult to interpret in Keats ode. Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye need to know on earth, and all ye need to know. It is said that Keats was not even clear of the exact message presented by that statement.
Forman 104). most critics thinks he used the term of truth and beauty in a Platonic sense, as verbal representations of the highest ideals. The first part of the statement is relatively clear the highest expressions of art are the most inspiring expressions of wisdom and truth. But, the last part of the message leaves a lingering sense. Maybe he thought only the beautiful parts of life should be represented which is those that are on the urn. But only Keats knew the real meaning. It is the poet, therefore who speaks the last two lines regarding the urn.
The urn says beyond all the other factors in life all the human being needs to know is that beauty and truth is of one of the same. So even though the last stanza is of a different structure, it does not have the urn representing a scene, it still represents innocence and beauty especially within the famous line Beauty is truth, truth beauty. And therefore as demonstrated throughout the entire poem by the use of images painted on the urn, Keats demonstrates the theme of innocence and eternal beauty.
Keats has clearly shown the presence of eternal beauty and innocence throughout his ode. He has shown this through the various scenes that are painted on the urn. By using his imagination in interpreting the urn. Keats shows us what he thinks about the art. What it really means could be different to different people. But it remains for many generations to take form it what they want. Each scene can be seen differently but no matter what the central theme is still apparently inevitable.
