Analysis Of Ode On A Grecian Urn

The Society of Classical Poets, a highly critical and knowledgeable website, ranks "Ode on a Grecian Urn" as the seventh best poem ever written originally in the English language under 50 lines. Considering Keats 's short, but eventful life, the question is why? Why is this poem ranked so high? To put it simply, the man who wrote this culminated many details of his life, the urn portrays many of these subjects, into a poem. Keats, eloquently through the catalyst of art and poetry, tells the stories of his love of nature, the importance of someone or something to learn from, and the fear of a premature death. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" details three separate snapshots of events happening on an urn that the narrator is looking at. The narrator is looking at the Grecian urn, presumably in a museum, and while observing the urn, thoughts inhabit his mind concerning the 3 "scenes" or "snapshots." The first snapshot shows some men chasing women, most likely in a sexual or love pursuit. The second is a "Fair youth" sitting under a tree, playing a song on a pipe, most likely similar to a flute. Lastly, is the third "snapshot" a more grim scene, it details a priest in the midst of sacrificing a cow. All of these images may seem unalike, but they all have something in common, they 're all frozen in time, Keats acknowledges this himself. John Keats, a man humbly born into a middle class family in London, England on October 31, 1795. His parents, Thomas and Frances, had tragic endings to