Beauty-Is-Truth

“BeautyIsTruth,Truthbeauty”AsoneoftherepresentativeRomanticistpoets,JohnKeatscomposesthegreatestodesofEnglishLiterature.“Beautyistruth,truthbeauty”,whichcomesfromhisfamouspoem“OdeonaGrecianUrn”,issurelythemostfamousmetaphysicalequation.Inevitably,myunderstandingofthispoembeginsfromthisfinalcouplet.Itisobviousthatthe“Beauty”and“Truth”inKeats’smindareinterchangeable,andtheyaretheultimatepursuitofeveryartistandtheworkofart.Inthefirststanza,Keatsusesthreedifferentchorologicalconceptstodescribeasubtleandeternalbeauty:thepresent“stillunravish’dbride”,thepast“sylvanhistorian”andthefuture“foster-child”.Sowheneverinthepast,presentorfuture,thepicturesontheurnwillneverdisappear.Abstractlyspeaking,thebeautyofwilllastforever.Andpersonally,Ithinkthisistheode’stheme.Inthestanza2,theunheardmelodiesaresweeterthanthatwehaveeverheard.Onlythepeople,whodevotestoarttotally,couldhavesuchakindoffeelingofsupernaturalabilitytoenjoy“Thistimethesilentvictoryhasthesound”realm.Andalso,thebeautiful“fairyouth”lovesboldly,thoughhecanneverreachhislover’slips.Thisisanotherkindofimaginarybeauty.Byrepeating6“happy”quicklyinthefirst5linesinstanza3,thepoetdemandseverybody,everythingtobehappy,includingthetreesthatarealiveinthispicture.Ontheotherhand,itishappinessthatallthecreaturesontheurnoughttobefeeling,thefacesthat“cannotfade”,thetreesthat“neverbidtheSpringadieu”,thepipingsongs“forevernew”.Soatthistime,thepoetappreciateslifenotonlyfromintoxicatingwiththeartitself,butalsofromasenseofreality.Poetillustratesthetruthoflifeinasurrealworld.Stanza4leadsustoapicturewithoutsomanypassionsinit,animaginarybackgroundofthelivingcreaturesdepictedinstanza2and3.Now,thepoetdrawsusbackfromdreamofblissandbeauty,andshowsustherealityasimperfectandcoarseasithasbeenfortheGrecianpeopleandwillalwaysbeforeveryhumanbeing.Stanza5givesanoverviewoftheurn.Itisinterestingthatthepoetputstheeternityandtheurntogetheras“teasingusoutofthought”.Aftergivingalivelypictureofthestationaryurninagradualway,thepoettriggersthereaders’thinkingbythelasttwolines—“Beautyistruth,truthbeauty,--thatisallyeknowonearth,andallyeneedtoknow.’”Personally,myinterpretationisthat“Beautyistruth,truthbeauty”isaddressedto“ye”,boththeyouthontheurnandthereaders.Althoughitseemslikethatthewordsarequotedfromtheurn,itisstillpossiblethatpoetmakesthisstatementoutofhisownthinking.OscarWildesaid“Thetruthisrarelypureandneversimple.”Truthsometimesmeansreality,whilerealityisusuallynotbeautifulatall.Realitycanbedisappointingorcruelorugly.Dickinsonalsoside“IdiedforBeauty.”Bychoosingbeautytobelieveinasthetotaltruth,wecanevensurpasstheuglypartofreality.However,sometimesthebeautyiscoveredwithdustandthetruthisveiled.Fromhere,wecanunderstandthepoet’seagernesstomakethelivingashappyaspossibleinstanza3,byrepeating6times“happy”.Hedecidestoseebeauty,whichisconnectedwithhappiness.Itiswhyheusestheurn’stonetomakehisstatement“Beautyistruth,truthbeauty…”Overall,“OdetoaGrecianUrn”depictsthewriterdescribingthebeautyinterredinanancientreceptacle.Abeautythatistimelessspeaksoftheagespast.Weareforevertryingtodescribeandsharethemeaningoftherealitythatweperceive.However,Istillhavessomedoubtfulpointstowardthispoem.Afterbuildingpermanentbeautifulruralscenery,whythepoetuses“ColdPastoral”atlast?Whythereisstill“otherwoe”?Ithinkthisistherealclassicthatleadsustopondermuchmore.