Ode_On_A_Grecian_Urn_And_Its_Historical_Symbolism

Ode On A Grecian Urn And Its Historical Symbolism “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and Its Historical Symbolism" In the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” the urn is symbolic of history itself. True, every line of the poem paints a picture of a concrete item, but the pictures themselves are historical, and tell the stories of gods and deities, men and maidens, struggles and war, even love and death. Therefore, the urn itself is both physically and symbolically a representation of history. The urn is a quiet item, much like history. It sits in its place until moved, or in the case of history, told. The urn, sitting silently, is also easily overlooked and forgotten, much like a foster child, and just like history which may be remembered for a little while, eventually fades into the background, “Thou foster-child of silence and slow time.” (2) Keats even directly refers to the urn as a historian, “Sylvan historian, who canst thus express; /A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme.” (3-4) further emphasizing my claim. Melodies heard by the ear are sweet, but those heard by the heart are even sweeter. With history it is the same. We see history happening every day, but it’s history, urn, even, thou, poem, love, keats, death, youth, time, though, stories, pictures, heard, canst, yet, trees, tone, told, therefore, sweeter, sweet, slow, silence, old, ode, much, lines, life, leave, just, it’s, itself, item, historical, historian