Ode on a Grecian Urn

“Ode on a Grecian Urn,” written in 1819 by John Keats and published anonymously in Annals of the Fine Arts, is one of the “Great Odes of 1819.” The other odes in the sequence include “Ode on Innocence,” “Ode on Melancholy,” “Ode to a Nightingale,” and “Ode to Psyche.” Two articles focusing on the classics written by English artist and writer Benjamin Hayden inspired the poem. The poem consists of five stanzas of ten lines each, in which Keats engages in ekphrasis, representing a piece of art in poetry. Here, the speaker addresses a Grecian urn, speaking to it directly while describing the images on it. The urn bears two scenes: A lover pursuing his beloved and villagers gathering to perform a sacrifice. The poet contemplates what the urn says to future generations and surmises that what the urn communicates is “‘Beauty is truth, truth is beauty’—that is all” (Line 49) and “Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know” (Line 50). Although it was not well received at its original publication, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is now considered one of the greatest odes in English literature.

Poet Biography

John Keats was born on October 31, 1795, though some records state his date of birth as October 29.