"Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a notable literary work by John Keats. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts,
Key info,
Summary,
Themes,
Characters,
Literary devices,
Quotations,
Notes, to various questions of "Ode on a Grecian Urn".
Quotations
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Explanation: In these lines, the speaker addresses the Grecian urn as an untouched symbol of serenity and timelessness.
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter;
Explanation: In this line, the speaker suggests that the beauty of imagined or unexperienced pleasures is even greater than those we’ve encountered.
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
Explanation: In these lines from “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, the speaker is highlighting the timeless beauty of the scene depicted on the urn, suggesting that the beauty of the urn’s subject, a woman, will never fade, and the love for her will endure forever.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Explanation: Here, the speaker suggests that beauty and truth are interconnected and that understanding this connection is essential in life.