Themes in the Poetry of Keats

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Based on the word choice, the speaker’s overall tone is

angry.
encouraging.
mournful.
loving

The first step a reader should take to determine a theme in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is to

summarize the poem in his or her own words.
state the poem’s message in a single sentence.
determine what the poem says about the topic.
identify an important topic in the poem

Which are examples of themes? Check all that apply.

Time heals even the deepest wounds.
True friendship knows no boundaries.
Vases can be considered a type of art.
Pride eventually leads to a downfall.
Many people have vibrant imaginations.

While the message in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is that art is an eternal and unchanging truth, the message in “On Seeing the Elgin Marbles” is that art changes over time.

The paper is stating the poems’

summaries.
themes.
topics.
transitions.

One theme in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is that art is an eternal and unchanging truth.

Now, read the passage from “Solitary Reaper,” another poem from the romantic period.

Whate’er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o’er the sickle bending;—
I listen’d, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

Which line from “Solitary Reaper” is most thematically similar to the theme of eternal art in “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?

“Whate’er the theme, the Maiden sang”
“I saw her singing at her work”
“I listen’d, motionless and still”
“Long after it was heard no more”

Keats’s word choice in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” affects the , or the speaker’s attitude toward the topic of the poem.

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone

Keats uses the phrase “spirit ditties” to describe the

music the gods on the urn favor the most.
songs the people on the urn appear to be playing.
music created by blowing across the top of the urn.
songs that were popular at the time the urn was made.

So do these wonders a most dizzy pain,
That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude
Wasting of old Time—with a billowy main—
A sun—a shadow of a magnitude.

Now, read the passage from “Ozymandias,” another poem from the romantic period.

And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

How do the passages’ themes compare?

Both passages have the theme “time erases everything.”
“Elgin Marbles” has the theme “art outlasts even death,” while “Ozymandias” has the theme “death comes to everything.”
Both passages have the theme “nature is cruel.”
“Elgin Marbles” has the theme “decay is inevitable,” while “Ozymandias” has the theme “fame survives death.”

One theme in “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is that art is an eternal and unchanging truth.

Now, read the passage from Keats’s poem “On Seeing the Elgin Marbles.”

So do these wonders a most dizzy pain,
That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude
Wasting of old Time—with a billowy main—
A sun—a shadow of a magnitude.

The theme of the passage relates to the theme from “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by

supporting it.
contradicting it.
summarizing it.
illustrating it.