John Keats" poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn" describes his thoughts of a shapely Grecian urn painted with images of people, nature and other Greek aspects. These images show the reader the sense of beauty that Keats saw in things. The ancient urn distracts Keats and it makes him reflect on his personal experiences. The lines "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;" show that Keats would rather look at the stories encompassed by the urn than listen to the music playing at the moment. He goes on to say, "Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear"d, pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone." "Ode on a Grecian Urn" captures many aspects that relate to Keats" own life and the romantic era. .
At first, when reading the poem, the tone seems cheerful and flowery. The urn seems like some sort of mystical relic that has surpassed time, and it holds a countless number of stories to tell. However, when the reader digs deeper, they realize how depressing the poem actually sounds. In the third part, Keats even uses the word "happy" six times. He uses euphemisms like that to cover up the harsh realities of life and death. Also, the line "A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme" makes the reader think the urn holds happy stories, but in actuality, the stories show melancholy. The line "For ever warm and still to be enjoyed. Forever panting, and forever young" describe the eternal life of the urn, but Keats knows that nothing lasts forever. The line "When old age shall this generation waste" refers to death, possibly even his own. When reading this poem, I immediately associated the urn with death, because most of the time people use urns to store ashes of cremated friends or relatives. Also the line "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!" describes a young man trying to kiss a woman, but cannot do it.