Friday, February 11, 2011

Ode on a Grecian Urn

I attempted to flatten Urn today and it was difficult. It was hard to really break it up word for word, but I have a few theories about the poem. There seems to be a mental conflict between Keats, (or the observer of the Urn) and the Urn itself. However, it could also be a voiced argument that the observer is having with himself and what he is seeing. He could be both praising and condemning the Urn for its ideal imagery and its inability to exist as real events. It seems like the beautiful vase is the epitome of an Absolute Nirvana, and the observer is emotionally attached to it because he longs for that kind of life, but knows he can't have it because his soul is mortal. The Urn, or the one who painted it made an ambitious attempt to create an illusion of both an individual and communal Utopia. A "burning forehead and parching tongue" implies that Observer is envious of the fabricated image. Several times I felt sorry for the observer, but sometimes I laughed inside because I couldn't help but imagine a passionate guy talking to an Urn. But why not? Art talks to us, so it only seems fair to communicate with art. The "love" and "priest" indicate that the connection between the observer and the Urn is an emotional and spiritual one. Perhaps the observer was imagining himself as the living flesh of the urn's emotions and the worshipper of its beauty. But then there is the contradiction when he exclaims, "Cold Pastoral!" Does he love the urn for it's scene but hate that the scene never changes? There's a lot of mystery in this piece....

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