Keats' Poems and Letters
what does keats has to say about trutth and beauty in the ode "To grecian Urn" ?
"To grecian Urn" ?
"To grecian Urn" ?
Keats directly addresses a Grecian urn -- a symbol of timelessness and aesthetic beauty -- and contrasts this object's version of the world with the vicissitudes of real life. He asks direct, rhetorical questions of the scenes he sees on the urn -- "What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? (8) -- and wonders about the real scenes that the urn's decorator was referencing. He contrasts the idyllic love he sees on the urn with the inevitable imperfection of love among mortal humans. Keats also describes a scene of "pipes and timbrels" (perhaps a Bacchanalian celebration?), two young lovers underneath the trees, and a heifer being led to sacrifice. Following all this, Keats lapses into a glum mood, but the urn presents a final lesson: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" -- which subsequently became a famous, but frequently contested, phrase.
http://www.gradesaver.com/keats-poems-and-letters/study-guide/summary-ode-on-a-grecian-urn