"Ode on a Grecian Urn" was written by the influential English poet John Keats in 1819. It is a complex, mysterious poem with a disarmingly simple set-up: an undefined speaker looks at a Grecian urn, which is decorated with evocative images of rustic and rural life in ancient Greece. These scenes fascinate, mystify, and excite the speaker in equal measure—they seem to have captured life in its fullness, yet are frozen in time. The speaker's response shifts through different moods, and ultimately the urn provokes questions more than it provides answers. The poem's ending has been and remains the subject of varied interpretation. The urn seems to tell the speaker—and, in turn, the reader—that truth and beauty are one and the same. Keats wrote this poem in a great burst of creativity that also produced his other famous odes (e.g. "Ode to a Nightingale"). Though this poem was not well-received in Keats' day, it has gone on to become one of the most celebrated in the English language.
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The Full Text of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
1Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
2 Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
3Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
4 A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
5What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape
6 Of deities or mortals, or of both,
7 In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
8 What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
9What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
10 What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
11Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
12 Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
13Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
14 Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
15Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
16 Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
17 Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
18Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;
19 She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
20 For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
21Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
22 Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
23And, happy melodist, unwearied,
24 For ever piping songs for ever new;
25More happy love! more happy, happy love!
26 For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
27 For ever panting, and for ever young;
28All breathing human passion far above,
29 That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
30 A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
31Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
32 To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
33Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
34 And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
35What little town by river or sea shore,
36 Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
37 Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
38And, little town, thy streets for evermore
39 Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
40 Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.
41O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
42 Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
43With forest branches and the trodden weed;
44 Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
45As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
46 When old age shall this generation waste,
47 Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
48Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
49 "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
50 Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
The Full Text of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
1Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
2 Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
3Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
4 A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
5What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape
6 Of deities or mortals, or of both,
7 In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
8 What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
9What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
10 What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
11Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
12 Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
13Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
14 Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
15Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
16 Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
17 Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
18Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;
19 She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
20 For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
21Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
22 Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
23And, happy melodist, unwearied,
24 For ever piping songs for ever new;
25More happy love! more happy, happy love!
26 For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
27 For ever panting, and for ever young;
28All breathing human passion far above,
29 That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
30 A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
31Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
32 To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
33Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
34 And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
35What little town by river or sea shore,
36 Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
37 Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
38And, little town, thy streets for evermore
39 Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
40 Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.
41O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
42 Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
43With forest branches and the trodden weed;
44 Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
45As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
46 When old age shall this generation waste,
47 Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
48Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
49 "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
50 Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Summary
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Themes
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Mortality
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Art, Beauty, and Truth
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History and the Imagination
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
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Lines 1-4
Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: -
Lines 5-10
What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy? -
Lines 11-16
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; -
Lines 17-20
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! -
Lines 21-25
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love! -
Lines 26-30
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue. -
Lines 31-34
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? -
Lines 35-40
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return. -
Lines 41-45
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral! -
Lines 46-50
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Symbols
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Music
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Nature
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Apostrophe
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Alliteration
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Anaphora
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Chiasmus
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Consonance
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Paradox
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Personification
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Asyndeton
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Epizeuxis
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Thou
- Unravish'd
- Sylvan
- Canst
- Thy
- Tempe
- Dales
- Arcady
- Loth
- Mad
- Pipes
- Timbrels
- Ditties
- Fair
- Bliss
- Wilt
- Adieu
- High-sorrowful
- Cloy'd
- Parching
- Heifer
- Drest
- Citadel
- Attic
- Brede
- Dost
- Doth
- Pastoral
- Say'st
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Speaker
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“Ode on a Grecian Urn” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
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More “Ode on a Grecian Urn” Resources
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External Resources
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More by Keats — A link to more poems by Keats, including his other odes.
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Portrait of John Keats by Joseph Severn — A painting done of Keats by his friend and contemporary, Joseph Severn.
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Sketch of an Urn by Keats — A sketch by John Keats of the Sosibios urn, which is thought to have partially inspired the poem.
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A Contemporary Review of Keats — A link to John Gibson Lockhart's review of Keats's poetry in 1818.
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Other Ekphrastic Poems — A collection of poems that also use an ekphrastic approach.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by John Keats
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