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Ode on a Grecian Urn

• Poet: John Keats

• Theme: Exploration of beauty through art and its enduring legacy.

Essential Question

• Inquiry: How do you define beauty?

Objectives

• Goals for Students:

  • Analyze complex figurative language.

  • Evaluate philosophical themes of beauty and truth.

  • Synthesize perspectives on Keats’s message through collaborative activities.

Engagement Activities

• Pre-reading Activity: Choose an artwork you find beautiful and write two sentences explaining why.

Analyze Stanza Structure

• Definition: A stanza is a unit of lines in a poem, often similar in length and rhyme scheme. It functions like a paragraph in prose.

• Structure of "Ode on a Grecian Urn":

  • Five stanzas, each with ten lines of iambic pentameter.

  • Iambic foot consists of two syllables (unstressed followed by stressed).

  • Keats varies meter for emphasis and to avoid monotony.

Focus on Genre: Ode

• Characteristics of an Ode:

  • Lyric poem developing a single theme.

  • Serious tone appealing to intellect and imagination.

  • Often commemorates events or praises beauty in nature or individuals.

Poem's Central Idea

• Content Overview:

  • The speaker contemplates scenes and figures on a Grecian urn and the immortality they represent.

  • Uses apostrophe to address both the urn and the figures depicted.

Rhyme Scheme Analysis

• Definition: Rhyme scheme describes the pattern of end rhymes in a poem, enhancing its musicality.

• Keats’s Rhyme Scheme:

  • First four lines of each stanza: abab

  • Next six lines: varies (e.g., cdedce, cdeced, cdecde)

• Impact: The complexity of the rhyme scheme reflects the intricacies of the urn's themes.

Apostrophe Analysis

• Definition: Apostrophe refers to addressing an absent or imaginary person or object, often conveying strong emotions.

• Examples from the Poem:

  • Addressing the urn as an admired person indicates the speaker's emotional connection.

  • Focus shifts between the urn and its depicted figures in various lines.

Background on John Keats

• Biography:

  • Lived 1795-1821, died at 25.

  • Life influenced by illness and loss, limiting personal happiness.

  • "Ode on a Grecian Urn" inspired by ancient Greek urns at the British Museum, often featuring mythological imagery.

Vocabulary

• Key Terms:

  1. Unravish’d – Untouched, unspoiled.

  2. Bride – Metaphor for the urn.

  3. Sylvan – Pertaining to the forest.

  4. Historian – Metaphor for the urn's role in recording moments.

  5. Tempe – Symbol of beauty in Greece.

  6. Eternity – Immortality, timelessness.

Analysis of Stanzas 1-5

• Main Themes:

  • Imagery: The urn depicted as a silent storyteller of beauty and time.

  • Melody vs. Silence: "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter,” implying that imagination surpasses auditory experience.

  • Eternal Beauty: The figures on the urn experience immortal love, yet remain forever unfulfilled.

Group Activities

• Objectives for Class Discussions:

  • Analyze assigned stanzas focusing on rhyme and imagery.

  • Discuss philosophical implications of "Beauty is truth, truth beauty."

Individual Reflection

• Prompt: Reflect on what Keats means by "truth is beauty, beauty truth" in a contemporary context, using textual evidence.

Assessment Practice

• Questions to Consider:

  • Identify metaphorical references in the text, such as the "Sylvan historian."

  • Explore how images on the urn relate to themes of permanence and impermanence.

Plenary

• Discussion Summary: Revisit the essential question on defining beauty and encourage deeper engagement with Keats's philosophy through annotations.